


Humanity of the Former Sexta Espada

by orphan_account



Category: Bleach
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-13
Updated: 2017-02-13
Packaged: 2018-09-23 23:34:08
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 6
Words: 34,633
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9687383
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: After the Winter War, Grimmjow is suffering from Aizen's final punishment and there's only one person who can save him from his dilemma. Are hollows truly 'heartless? On permanent hiatus. Posted for preservation.





	1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach.

"Gwimmjow!"

"What brat?"

"Why ith you being tho thubborn?"

"Arrg! I've said it a hundred times, ya annoying little shit! Don't make me throw ya into the desert!"

"…you're really thupid, ya know?"

"Why ya-!"

Even as Grimmjow began to chase the irritating little ibex, he knew she had a point. His current problem was bad enough without the brat but she was part of the reason he was alive now. Her 'spit'- damn girl, it was vomit- had healed his injuries after Ichigo and the Woman had left to the Living World and he'd been at her mercy. Things were so different now than they were back then…

Nel had been the most beautiful female he could ever recall setting eyes on. To top it off she had power and intelligence. Of course, she'd never spared him a second glance back then; he'd been the 11th Arrancar and she La Tres Espada. He'd be lying if he said he wasn't absolutely smitten (to Pantera, he never planned on saying anything to anyone else ever). However, hollows only took mates with those close to them in power; else wise they might devour you and your offspring. So in order to even appear on her possible-mate-radar he'd have to at least rise to a ranking just below her. It was the perfect incentive to evolve and become more powerful all the more quickly. He shot up the ranks until he was the 9th Espada when one day, she was gone. No trace of her reiatsu anywhere. Even her fraccion were gone. Nnoitra, the skinny bastard, wore a smug grin for months. Grimmjow wasn't sure how but the then 7th Espada was involved in her disappearance, he had no doubt, and Szayel, the 12th Arrancar, seemed oddly pleased about something. While he could take on the crazy scientist any day, Nnoitra was higher in rank- and would remain so- and had been an Espada longer thus having more credibility. Time passed and he moved on, growing stronger for himself on his journey to Vasto Lorde. As the Sexta, he searched for powerful opponents to challenge, defeat and devour to increase his strength while obeying Aizen-most of the time- to remain in his favor. Then, he heard Ulquiorra's report…

He was still a Adjucas Arrancar when he first challenged Kurosaki Ichigo. That fight was one of the most exhilarating he'd had in nearly a decade. He found himself coming back for more and more, relishing in an opponent who could leave wounds on his flesh so deep, he'd forever bear the scars with pride in honor of such a worthy opponent. The first time they clashed, he won. Although it wasn't surprising when one took into account the Shinigami's condition. So what if he was exhausted from battling hollows all day? In Hueco Mundo, if you saw weakness in your prey, you exploited it. True to himself he had, only to be interrupted by Tousen. He left the Shinigami barely alive and already knew he'd want to face him again. Their second brawl, ended in the Shinigami's favor. Sneaky bastard got himself a hollow mask! How the hell did he do that? What the fuck did he do to himself? He never got any answers and was sent packing back to Las Noches, thoroughly trounced. His punishment for losing their battle was the reason he was dying now.

When they fought in Hueco Mundo, he tried to get the not-Shinigami-almost-Hollow to kill him. Unfortunately, the boy spared him and refused to deal the finishing blow. He yelled in frustration and nearly gave into the urge to yank his hair out. He clung too tightly to his tattered pride to simply beg for release from his suffering and was too cowardly to take his life himself. Nnoitra's betrayal was practically a godsend. His entire left pectoral was gone; he'd felt the sharp edge scrape slivers off the surface of his ribs, felt blood painting the sand, one of his lungs collapsing, the faltering flutter of his heart. He knew he was going to die and was willing to let Nnoitra finish him off, pride be damned.

CLANG!

"What are ya doin', asshole?" he hardly heard Nnoitra ask. His eyes were wide, stunned at the sight before him… The boy had protected him. In a split second, he was there; a leg braced on either side of Grimmjow, both hands on Tensa Zangetsu, said zanpakto meeting Santa Theresa where her crescents were joined.

"That's my line! Where the hell do you get off attacking a guy who can't even move?"

"Nnoitra….ya…bastard…." He couldn't tell Nnoitra to finish the job, or properly insult the stupid kid, much to his indignation. His opponent-turned-protector and his would-be executioner sent looks his way before the orange-haired-sorta-Shinigami took advantage of the minor distraction and pushed the Quinta away. Kurosaki shifted to meet his eyes and Grimmjow tried to convey his fury as light blue locked on chocolate-honey brown.

'Why? Stupid Shinigami-Hollow! Why save a dying man? A man that's brought you nothing but pa-'

'You're worth more than this.'

He could virtually hear the younger male's voice in his head and felt unfamiliar warmth spread throughout his extremities. He put it up to the fact that he was dying, despite Pantera's weak protests otherwise. He was a hollow, a hardcore cannibalistic being without a 'heart'. He didn't get warm feelings about anything. Pantera roared in disdain at such thoughts, and mentally cuffed him. A moment later, he registered the Woman at his side hands up by her temples as the golden glow of her healing-chamber-shield enveloped him.

The following events were a flurry of activity. Kurosaki was getting his ass kicked, the Woman trying to talk to him to keep him awake, and the green nuisance was sobbing.

"Ithsygo! Don't die, Ithsygo!"

Then, the unbelievable happened.

"I am Neliel. Neliel Tu Odelschwanck, the former Tres Espada."

The next instant, she was kicking Nnoitra's ass into next week. She even used her Resurrection and had the Quinta on the ropes. And just as she was about to kill him, poof. Baby Nel was back. Apparently she overexerted herself and drained what little reserves of reiatsu she had. They were pretty much done for, all of them, when three taicho arrived and saved their sorry asses. The Woman had healed most of his injuries and Kurosaki picked him up to carry him with them (his growls were ignored). They left him nearly a mile away propped up against a slab of stone before leaving for the Living World.

He was hidden from the taicho by the intact pillars and Yammy's (when did that brainless oaf get here?) reiatsu. Nel was sitting in the sand by his left hip; having been left behind for her own safety- did he look like a babysitter? - And was mostly silent. Mostly.

"Gwimm?"

"…"

"Gwimm?"

"…"

"…"

"…"

"…I mith Ithsygo."

Oh, why, was he left with the toddling girl? And now he was running after the diminutive former Espada, again, the picture of fatherhood. Good god, fatherhood. The thought stopped him in his pursuit of Nel. He looked down at his whole stomach, something he managed to keep hidden under a longer jacket he'd zipped up during his fight with Kurosaki, and his hands raised unconsciously to the smooth skin. He let his eyes fall shut as the tiny reiatsu beneath his fingers rubbed softly against his own. So small, yet so draining. Literally, draining his reiatsu to feed itself because he couldn't leave the safety of Las Noches to hunt, lest he be hunted himself. It was a miracle Nel hadn't dropped dead with hunger.

"Gwimmjow?" she asked. She knew his mind was not completely on her game- Poke The Kitty And Run, Run, Run!(a spin on Eternal Tag) - no matter how oblivious she behaved. Nel may have been a child, but even she knew that an unprotected pregnant hollow, was a dead pregnant hollow.

He sighed defeated, 'Don't got a choice at this point.' He was nearly a month along and his body felt as though it'd fall over at the slightest nudge. His belly rumbled all day, his limbs- particularly his legs- moved sluggishly and his head throbbed and his back was leaning towards betrayal and his feet were just so sore, and his entire body felt hot, damn it.

"Shut up. We're…going. Alright brat?" he said through clenched teeth. He couldn't believe he was caving on the issue but as Pantera reminded him,two little lives were depending on him and he couldn't stand to watch Nel and his unborn cub die. For hollows, cubs were rarer than Vasto Lorde. A mate who wouldn't devour cubs was nigh impossible to find- hell, sometimes, crueler hollows reproduced for the sole sake of easy prey, with no regard for their little ones at all. Others grew tired of being needed for everything and simply abandoned the defenseless babes in the middle of the desert. The rest were usually eaten by stronger hollows when their parents were too weak to protect them. Grimmjow wasn't so cruel as to blame the child inside him for his situation and Nel, while annoying, was a cub left in his care, thus, she might as well have been born from his body (much to Pantera's fucking joy: what the hell was wrong with his zanpakto?).

Nel was silent as she scurried to stand before him. He opened his eyes and watched as she eyed his temporarily-still-flat-abdomen. After a moment she met his gaze and raised her arms in the universal request to be held. He did so without a word, placing her on his hip with a hand under her bottom and she gripped his jacket by his collar bone tightly. With his free hand he opened a Garganta and stepped through it, and then he was using what reiatsu he had left to take them to safety. To the home of his arch nemesis and only lifeline. Karakura Town, the home of Kurosaki Ichigo.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is mostly Kurosaki sibling fluff with Grimm and Nel appearing near the end. I feel like Ichigo's sisters go underappreciated, especially when you consider that Ichigo got his powers to protect them in the first place. I hope I don't do Ichigo, Karin and Yuzu any injustice and/or make them too OOC. I also want this chapter to give some depth on the sibling relationship and a warning to Isshin fans: I am not feeling real hot about him so there may be some excess bashing aside from occasional name calling that we all expect anyway. I'm going to ignore the Bount in this fanfic because I completely 100% dislike that arc. Sorry if you were hoping for Grimmjow and Nel to star in this chapter! But they'll be in the spotlight again in the next chapter.

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach.

"I officially hate the soutaicho."

"…*sigh*you keep saying that Ichi-nii. Honestly, why don't you keep it to yourself? We heard you the last two hundred times."

"Old bastard denied me again! We helped Soul Society how many times? First, we foiled Aizen's plan to activate the Hyogyoku, even if we didn't know about it, then we trained our asses off to fight the Arrancar, fought on their side in the War even though they labeled Inoue a traitor-"

"Remember to breath, Onii-chan!"

"- we killed Kageroza, took on the Sword Fiends, Muramasa, Kusaka, Ginjo and his fullbringer buddies after he messed with everybody…"

At moments like this, Karin was glad she had mastered tuning out the males in her family. It was practically a requirement when you had a father like Isshin, who was known to rant to Masaki's poster for hours on end about every little accomplishment his children made and wailing about their 'failures'. Really, a B+ on a math test was not an epic failure. But the Kurosaki children's father wasn't who was currently driving her insane.

Ichigo had been requesting permission to return to Hueco Mundo for weeks to look for survivors and had been once again denied. He had become so persistent that Soul Society sealed the Dangai to anyone without a Hell Butterfly. Of course, Ichigo just pulled on his mask and used a Garganta to make the trip much to Soul Society's confusion. Still, for all his ranting and raving, she could understand her big brother's agitation. All he wanted was to search for the friends he'd been forced to leave in the Hollow dimension.

From what he told them, he'd left at least two of his friends there and was very worried about them. Not that he admitted it outright. He just happened to be a very open book. It was one of his traits that Karin liked best. Sure, he was frustrating and stubborn, refusing to tell them about his Shinigami life at first, but once he realized that he couldn't win that particular fight or perhaps that it wasn't fair to continue to keep them in the dark, he told her and Yuzu about everything. As if she'd ever believed that crap was a 'dream' or a 'food-poisoning induced hallucination'. To his credit, it was pretty unbelievable; Soul Society, Hollows, Inner Hollows, Vaizard, Espada, Kido, Aizen, the Winter War, Zanpakto… And all the same, she and Yuzu couldn't not believe him. He had that look in his eyes, that resolve to see things to the end, the look their father got in his rare serious moments at their mother's grave when he would tell them stories she and Yuzu were too young to recall, the look he had when he told that everything was gonna be okay, the eyes of a great man, the eyes of a warrior. Ichigo-nii-san was a warrior. Warriors like him didn't lie. She could see it then and maybe Yuzu didn't really get it but the youngest Kurosaki had no trouble seeing the hurt, pain, regret, and the harrowing emotional things in their brother-guardian-warrior's eyes that Karin was too rough-and-tumble to see. Both twins were crying by the end of his long, long explanation, play-by-play of the Winter War and every battle before and since. But Ichigo wasn't the kind of brother to just sit and flounder, at a loss when it came to comforting his sisters.

The twins silently agree to remember everything about that day because Ichigo wasn't home so often anymore even after everything; all the school work he missed meant staying after school with tutors, and catching up on lectures and re-reading old material and he had gotten a job as an apprentice mechanic or something and they got lucky to see him at breakfast or late at night when he finally got off from work. So when he pulled Yuzu, to his right on the couch, and Karin, to his left, into a hug they'd been so shocked neither of them moved for several seconds. Ichigo just pulled them tighter against him, one sister on each knee, pressing them into his chest and nuzzling their hair, whispering apologies and broken murmurs. A look upwards caught the most terrible sight: Ichigo was crying. Ichigo never cried for anything, not even at Kaa-san's grave. Neither sister could remember ever seeing tears streak and ripple down his cheeks. Karin couldn't believe she'd been so selfish. Each time he deceived them was for their own safety, away from the tragedy of war and never ending battle that had become his life. He thought he was being merciful, shielding them from heartache and struggle, and Karin hated herself for making him regret a decision he'd made for their sake. He was always protecting them, from nightmares, bullies, pubescent boys, hollows: the unmovable shield that now thought his little sisters hated him, were angry at him, yet was still willing to be their shoulder and carry their burdens. He was willing to give everything for them and at that moment neither girl could be more grateful to be Kurosaki Ichigo's imouto. They threw themselves at him, arms encircling his neck sobbing, dually happy and heartbroken. They could've spent hours holding each other, days, it didn't matter. Ichigo, their big brother, was home and he loved them, had never forgotten them, and they loved him back.

Yuzu and Karin eventually cried themselves to sleep and Ichigo carried them to his room. He was careful not to jostle them too much as he laid back on his bed and using his socked feet, kicked the blankets at the foot of the bed high enough for his hands to drag over the three of them. It was a Saturday the next day so he didn't have to get up early for school or work and planned to do nothing at the moment but sleep in with his little sisters. He'd help Yuzu and Karin make breakfast and then they'd go and do things- it didn't really matter what they did as long as they did it together. He had obtained his Shinigami- and Hollow- powers for them. Not that goat-faced-shitty-excuse-for-a-father, not for himself, not for his friends. Yuzu and Karin. For the first time in what felt like centuries, he was home and he wasn't about to let that go.

The next day was the beginning of the Weekend- the most amazing weekend in the history of weekends because Ichi-nii made it all about them. Saturday, he showed Yuzu and Karin how to make 'Vanilla Filling Strawberry Pancakes with Caramel Syrup'- his own mouth watering invention (even made the caramel syrup from scratch!)-, he took them to the park and played soccer, a rigorous game of tag, pushed them on the swings, went shopping, made the twins a fantastic lunch- strips of steak layered with Swiss cheese, tomatoes, lettuce, avocados, and honey mustard sauce between slices of sour dough bread-, chased them in the most brutal tickle fight they'd had in years; the couch was flipped over and somehow, Yuzu's shirt got turned both inside out and backwards-, took them to the movie theater; they watched 'Puss in Boots' at Yuzu's request and followed up with 'How To Train Your Dragon', then he let them ride piggyback all the way home- full of hotdogs, nachos and soda-, and after securing the doors were locked, finally let them off at the top of the stairs to get ready for bed with the promise of reading to them when they were done. Karin and Yuzu had never moved so fast, Ichigo mused-it could've been Shunpo. He quickly got ready for bed himself, in an old grey muscle shirt and black sweat pants. He perused his book shelf and grabbed a novel he couldn't remember reading, 'Eragon' by Christopher Paolini. He remembered buying it because he liked the cover art more than anything but figured it'd be a safe bet. The girls caught him off guard with sudden cheering as they jumped on his bed, decked out in their pajamas- Yuzu's had Eiyore from Winny the Pooh all over her yellow ones, and Karin was wearing 'Transformers' bottoms with a black shirt- he hurried over before they stole the blankets completely, little hecklers that they were. He waited as they settled against each side of him, Yuzu to the right and Karin to the left, before opening to the first page and beginning to read. They were entranced as his voice brought the words to life. An orphan struggling to make ends meet, hunting in the treacherous Spine, finding a magical stone and trying to trade it for meat or other valuables, secretly raising a baby dragon, confronting the village story teller… before they realized it, they'd fallen asleep. Ichigo marked the page, and placed the book on his desk. He easily drew parallels between himself and the protagonist of the story but pushed those thoughts aside. He'd have a lifetime to dwell on such things after all and instead readjusted himself and his sisters to lie comfortably before letting sleep take him. There was still much to be done the following day, and he'd need his strength.

Sunday, he proclaimed that they'd 'clean the house' at breakfast- he'd made 'Kurosaki Éclairs', which looked like regular éclairs, until they each took a bite and nearly died it was so good.

"Seriously Ichi-nii! You're gonna make us diabetics!" Karin conveniently ignored the chocolate glaze smeared around her mouth and momentarily pouted; arms crossed until her orange haired brother teasingly waved a warm-from-the-oven-freshly-glazed pastry-from-heaven in front of her face and she snatched it from his hands, uncaring about the yummy sweetness catching between her fingers as she devoured his hard work. Yuzu was humming a tune as she practically inhaled the éclairs, only stopping once in a while to ask Ichi-nii about the recipe, drink some milk, and giggle at Karin. Ichigo burst into heartfelt laughter and his sisters quieted; Ichi-nii was always scowling and making sarcastic remarks. It had been an unfortunate length of time since they'd last heard him laugh in sincere amusement, and the twins treasured the sound more than anything: if you asked Yuzu or Karin, both would tell you, there would never be enough gold to bring them as much happiness or joy as Ichigo-nii-san's laughter.

After breakfast, he clarified on his earlier statement. By 'cleaning' he meant that they'd do away with the old, painful memories in the house, 'emptying' it. He wanted to make a completely new start and he wanted to do it with them. So they'd remodel as a symbol of their new beginning. They'd clean each and every room, hall, nook and niche. Then they'd reorganize and repair the furniture; repaint all the walls, and clean the floors.

They took showers, got dressed, went to the store, and bought several cans of paint with brushes, soap and cleaning supplies and new lamps: apparently he hated their current ones- he wouldn't specify why. To be fair about it, he bought Karin a new pillow with 'Hiccup' grinning awkwardly on one side and 'Toothless' on the other- she could claim to be a tomboy all she wanted, but Ichigo knew she had the potential to have silly crushes just like her twin-, and Yuzu claimed a new blanket with some complex 'flowers and stripes' theme going on all over it. The curiosity was rather biting and Yuzu just had to ask, "Where'd you get the money for all this, Onii-chan? I didn't think you got paid that much at work."

"I don't. That lazy pain in the ass father of ours has gotta be good for something, ne?" he grinned and mussed her light brown hair. Yuzu flushed with happiness: the only thing rarer than Ichigo-nii-san's laughter were his smiles, so a full blown grin was a real treat. Their father was away in a 'medical conference' in 'Tokyo'; Ichigo told them that he was actually in Soul Society, discussing things he didn't know about with the taichos and Ichigo didn't know when he'd be back. He'd left his credit card- Ichi-nii was almost waving it around- and their brother was making full use of their funds. Being a doctor's kid did have its perks, not that Isshin spoiled them. Far from it in fact, but Ichigo felt that it was about time he indulged his little sisters and if that meant going a little nuts, he didn't give half a damn.

They returned to the house, and set about their tasks with vigor; tomorrow was Monday and they'd have to spend time dealing with other responsibilities. First they moved all the furniture to the center of each room and covered them in plastic tarps. Then, they opened all the windows- which now had decorative bars on them so small hollows and other intruders (shinigami moochers in gigais) couldn't get in without making it feel like a prison. Every room was designated a different color; Yuzu's half of the twins' room was sunshine yellow, while Karin's was sky blue. Ichigo's was lavender.

"But why?"

"It'll match my flowers outside, Onii-chan!"

"It'll clash with that hair of yours, Ichi-nii." They giggled and Ichigo surrendered. He hoped they never used their sway over him for evil purposes. Especially Yuzu. She might actually plot something both humiliating and clever that she innocently thought was cute.

The living room was light green and the kitchen remained white. Five and a half hours later, they'd gotten through their respective rooms, the kitchen and the living room- Ichigo painting the ceilings- and were ready to start the halls when Ichigo went about and made a ruckus.

"Aaah!" Yuzu cried as Ichigo splashed her with the red paint they were using on the borders in the hall. The drops speckled her purple tee shirt and flowery-swirls skirt where her plain white apron- they all wore one- didn't quite reach. He was smiling mischievously and flicked a little more paint at her from his hands in encouragement and she soon retaliated with the white paint, waving her brush wildly at him, eyes shut tightly. She successfully got paint on his red tee shirt, apron and flecks smacked into his face and hair. "Onii-chan!"

"I know you can do better than that, Imouto-chan!" Ichigo teased. Yuzu and Karin, standing beside her twin as they tackled some sort of stain on the wall (what was that?), held their breaths. The twins seldom addressed Ichigo by his full name, always using suffixes and informal terms to demonstrate their affection but Ichigo never did that. It wasn't strange to hear it, really, the way 'Imouto-chan' passed so casually from his lips. It was just…unfamiliar. Yet, it also filled a place they didn't even know was hollow. He knew it too. He walked closer to them, bent his knees to bring him closer to their eye level- in their shock they didn't move- and put a hand on each of their heads.

"I promised I'd be a better big brother didn't I? I don't want you two to have doubts about my feelings towards you. I love you. You're my imoutos and as long as you're around, no matter what's decided to jump in my way, I'll always come back home to you."

The twins acted together and tackled their brother to the floor. His eyes widened in surprise and he felt the air be knocked from his lungs as he collided with the hardwood floor. He took a moment to make sure nothing broke (they hadn't been training with Urahara or Yoruichi had they?) and assured all was well, simply lie there. Until Karin got fed up with the mushy moment and poured the remaining contents of her blue paint all over his head. He only saw the sneak attack coming in time to hold his breath and screw his eyes shut. It was thick and gooey over his naturally untamable hair and upper face even as he felt Yuzu pull away and no doubt head for her ammunition. He took a minute to wipe the color from his eyes, rose up and dove into his room for the lavender paint before they could double-team him.

"Bring it on, Ichi-nii!"

"You asked for it, twerps!"

They never officially finished the main upstairs hallway: the half-hearted attempt to recoat the walls white with red borders was rather unnoticeable; red, blue, yellow, greenish, and lavender paint was splattered all over everything; Ichigo's large handprints meshed up against Yuzu and Karin's smaller ones on the walls where they'd sought purchase when the floor was too slippery to be reliable; there were long disastrous streaks of mostly white and blue where Ichigo had decided to kneel- using his pants to gain traction, where they'd all inevitably tripped, landed and fought- mostly in vain- to get back up; a fair amount of paint from all their 'hand-to-hand combat' had found a home on the ceiling and in the center of it all were the criminals, red-blue-yellow-green-white-and-lavender-every-where'd. Ichigo was passed out on his back, only identifiable by his much larger frame. Yuzu and Karin were more or less indistinguishable as one or the other but each one had claimed a side on Ichigo as theirs and they snoozed, as for a little while, nothing else in the world mattered.

Karin smiled fondly at the memory, and grinned as she recalled that even now, almost a month later, they were still washing off paint with every shower. That nap probably wasn't the most well thought out idea at the time. The best part, though, was that Ichigo had kept his promise. He always made time for them either before or after studying, and between school and his work shift. Sometimes it was a just a few minutes he could squeeze out of his day, but it made the twins feel like their family was healing. They broke when Masaki died, and now that Grand Fisher was dead there was that much more closure.

However, there was still the issue of Isshin. Their father still hadn't returned from Soul Society which raised questions about the events taking place there. Soul Society was very hush-hush about how he was or when he might be back despite Ichigo asking the Soutaicho directly. Astonishingly, much to his friends shock, Ichigo wasn't planning some sort of daring rescue to bring his father back.

"He had his reasons for lying to us all these years." Ichigo said. "I know he was a taicho once, so if there's trouble he should be able to handle himself. I wouldn't be too surprised if they were forcing him to return to his post as a taicho, anyway. They're down three taicho and old Goat-Face was originally from Soul Society. They need him more than we do."

It was difficult to live with their brother's reasoning for Yuzu who was a 'daddy's girl'. The type of girl who adored her father, thought him invincible, incapable of any wrong. She had known the least about the events of the War- and hollows in general- because of her weak reiatsu. But, just like everyone else associated with Ichigo, her reiatsu had grown to a level where she could see Hollows and somewhat sense reiatsu. Isshin had continued to act like his silly, childish, human self around his children even after Ichigo had seen him fighting alongside Yoruichi and Urahara in Fake Karakura Town and Karin and Yuzu had felt his reiatsu during the battle. Yuzu was distraught when their father didn't deny her older sibling's accusations. He was called to Soul Society not a week after Aizen's defeat and Ichigo had been taking care of them ever since.

Well, more like he'd been taking care of them since Masaki's death. Anyone could see that Isshin just wasn't the same person after the loss of his beloved wife. He was listless and drank for several weeks: he forgot almost entirely about the children. Ichigo, even while blaming himself for Masaki's fate, had seen to his little sister's care; feeding them, bathing them, helping them get dressed, letting them share his bed at night because they felt scared and lonely, making sure they returned to school and got home safe. The rift between father and son would continue to grow as the years went by. Isshin did get better, but he put up that huge poster of their mother in the living room- insensitive to how the portrait made his children feel. The twins couldn't pass through the room without breaking into sobbing fits for months and Ichigo's guilt grew. Isshin became rather oblivious to anyone else's suffering but his own and it pissed Ichigo off like nothing else: the man who'd sired him was a hypocrite,

"I know you're trying to be strong, but sometimes you gotta share your feelings with us. We're a family aren't we?"

Karin was angry at him too. Yuzu was really the only one who built some kind of near-stable relationship with Isshin after he pulled himself out of his self pitying stupor. Ichigo had originally introduced the twins to soccer so they had an excuse to leave the house and be away from Isshin's 'cheerfulness'. It just made the dark cloud hanging over the Kurosaki Clinic blacken more with its falsehood. Isshin's absence wasn't that big of a deal really. Ichigo had been the twin's father more than Isshin had been in the last seven years.

He made sure the bills got paid with a job at a local mechanics shop coupled with their savings in the bank (they couldn't live off it alone forever), he repaired damage to the house, fought the rare hollow- every since Aizen's defeat almost no hollows came to Kurakara Town-, fed them like he planned on roasting them for Christmas Dinner, and at the same time, was a full-time high school student. It was like he coined the phrase, 'Well, make time!' Or he cloned himself: his friends could say all they wanted about him being naïve, dense, slow, and unintelligent all they wanted. Ichigo, though not the school work type, was one of the smartest people in his entire year. Karin truly admired Ichigo for everything he did and was glad she was his little sister and not someone else's…

Although, she also wished he'd stop insulting Soul Society and its archaic customs in her ear.

"-KERS! We can't do this, we can't do that, and how do they even get things done over there? I'm not helpin' 'em next time some unknown threat tries to overthrow 'em if this is how they treat me for killing Aizen! I didn't even ask for them to send Renji or Rukia with me! I just want to find Nel and-"

"Hold up, Ichi-nii!" Ichigo faltered for a moment before turning to face Karin and not the wall, bringing his arms to his sides (in his ranting he had begun to make dramatic arm movements as he paced the living room-in fruitless circles- in fury).

"Hm? What is it, Karin?"

"Didn't you invade Soul Society? Why do you even need permission to go to Hueco Mundo? If Aizen owned the place and you killed him, doesn't that make it belong to you? Can't you just open a Garganta and go?"

"By Hollow law, I own Las Noches. But Soul Society doesn't care about Hollow law because they don't consider Hollows to be people. They're afraid that I might build my own Hollow army and try to finish what Aizen started. So, the soutaicho had Kurotsuchi and the Kido division put all kinds of booby traps and spells to keep me out. I don't want to get poisoned again, hence, asking for permission."

"But can't the Garganta take you anywhere in Hueco Mundo?"

"Yeah, it still takes time though. I have to make a solid path and run for at least 2 hours to get anywhere. I can't use Shunpo because of how unstable the rift dimension is. That's enough time for Soul Society to send someone through the Senkaimon and force me to come back here. Bastards!"

"Ichi-nii, if your friends were alive wouldn't they have come for a visit?"

"Nel's a little kid, and her fraccion weren't too bright. Grimmjow is either still recovering or dead. I promised to fight him as many times as he wants, so I'm certain he'd have come already if he were able."

"And what's the plan if you find them?"

"Bring 'em here! I can't leave a kid like Nel out in Hueco Mundo! And if Grimmjow sticks around too long, Soul Society will hunt him down without giving him a fair chance to defend himself."

"Onii-chan! Karin-chan! Dinners ready!" Yuzu's call had the two of them moving to sit at the dining table; their plates were loaded with Chicken Fettuccini Alfredo and a bowl of breadsticks in the center.

"You're not gonna turn into a hoarder of some kind are you, Ichi-nii?"

"Where'd you get that from?"

Yuzu calmly joined her siblings and passed out napkins. "Ano, you did hide Rukia-chan in your closet for almost a year, Onii-chan." Ichigo blushed in embarrassment.

"I explained that!"

"Sure, but you still hid a gir-"

The conversion was stopped as sudden reiatsu was pressing down on the Kurosaki Clinic. Ichigo was quick to tear himself from his body, and raised his reiatsu to cancel out the invading force. He turned to them, his right hand on Zangetsu.

"You two alright?"

Karin was helping Yuzu stand but otherwise both his sisters appeared to be unharmed if a bit winded. They both nodded and waited for Ichigo to decide their course of action.

"Go to my room and hide in the closet! I put some Kidó wards in there that should cloak your reiatsu and right now it's the best place to hide. Go!"

Obediently, they hurried up the stairs. If it was something Ichigo couldn't handle, they'd already be dead. Therefore, if he thought hiding in the closet was the safest bet, it meant that he only wanted them out of immediate harm's way.

Ichigo watched his sisters climb the stairs and waited until their smaller reiatsu was almost undetectable, which meant they were safe. He bent his legs and jumped through the upper layers of the clinic to land neatly on the roof. The odd reiatsu he'd felt was caused by a Garganta opening above the house. From far away, a Garganta wouldn't be felt because the only area the reiatsu shifted was below and above it. Whatever the case, the hollow coming through wouldn't be a real threat to Ichigo unless it was Vasto Lorde class. His reiatsu was still as high as it had been when he'd fought Aizen. In fact, his friends freaked out every time he stopped lowering his reiatsu to a level they could sense. It rose to transcendent height when he was asleep, which was the only time they didn't mind, because during the War he'd been known to get less than 4 hours of sleep a week and they'd all- Ishida included- been concerned about his health.

The tear in the sky was still widening when he saw a black boot emerge. It led up a long leg, dressed in white hakama pants low on a waist, a black obi holding them there, a long white jacket with rolled sleeves on muscular arms, a flash of dull rags, blue hair-

"Wha?" he gaped. Ichigo thought his eyes were deceiving him for a moment. There stood Grimmjow, with Nel in his arms. The former Sexta was out of breath and panting from exertion. Sweat was visible in the moonlight, running down his face and neck, strands of his light blue hair dangled before his face heavy with the salty fluid. He was slightly hunched over and his arms were struggling to hold his cargo.

Nel was clinging to him, worried for the panther as she felt his reiatsu waver and fall dangerously low. The trip through the rift dimension was long and difficult- Grimmjow was so low on reiatsu when their journey began that it had taken more than three and a half hours to arrive in the Living World. Now, the remainder of his adrenaline was wearing off and his expendable reiatsu was pit-pattering out. Worse, they were in the air and if he didn't find a safe place to-

"Easy there, Grimmjow."

Just like that he wasn't supporting himself anymore. His left arm was around a set of broad shoulders and someone's arm was wrapped around his waist keeping him steady. He was too exhausted to recognize the voice, or make sense of what was being said, yet the voice seemed familiar. He turned his head to glimpse the owner of said voice and his eyes widened in surprise.

"K-kurosaki?"

Once more, chocolate-honey brown was on sky blue. Grimmjow felt a trickle of fear race up his spine; he subconsciously attempted to tighten his grip on the cub he was holding and simultaneously curl in on himself. It didn't matter that this man had saved them once: he was a worn out pregnant Hollow with no reiatsu to protect himself or his cubs from a Shinigami-Hollow-thing up in his personal space.

"Ithsygo?"Nel was very shocked when her favorite sorta-Shinigami materialized out of thin air at their side. She would've leapt into his arms (abdomen) had he not been assisting Grimmjow.

"Hey, Nel. What wrong with Grimmjow?" Even as he asked he was already lowering them to the ground. His former rival was obviously in bad shape and needed medical attention and while they could walk through the walls, it was quicker than going through the house. Ichigo couldn't feel any broken bones but Hollows weren't human and he didn't expect their anatomy to be completely the same.

"Gwimm ith…"

Grimmjow was barely hanging on to consciousness by a thread. The voices were sounding farther and farther away, the body in contact with his own was comfortingly warm and neither cub was emitting distressed reiatsu. Pantera was urging him to sleep, coaxing him to rest, for his zanpakto was assured that they were safe now and Grimmjow didn't have stay awake. He didn't register being laid on a bed, stripped bare of his clothes, covered in a soft blanket, the slight sting of an IV and the light pull of tape, his torso and face being wiped clean of sweat or Pantera being set in a tray under the mattress. He did feel the cub in arms move when his jacket was discarded but never released her completely; his jacket sleeve had to be cut away and when he felt the cub being pulled away he growled weakly and clutched the little one tighter. Whoever was pulling on her gave up and Grimmjow felt her snuggle into his chest. He faintly heard indistinct voices, one closer than the other, slightly roused by the struggle. He couldn't understand what was being said but the large intimidating presence was suddenly moving away from them and the cubs, both inside and out, were fast asleep. Wherever they were was safe and warm. He could feel a strong reiatsu practically wrapping around them protectively and the unborn cub was happy. It could pull reiatsu from the air, it was so thick here, and although it didn't compare to a real meal it would allow Grimmjow's reiatsu to recover some. At ease at last, he gave in to the temptress of slumber, the little ones secure and his body at its limit.

In the doorway, Ichigo- once more in his human body- watched with a slight smile on his face at the scene, a hand over Yuzu's mouth so she wouldn't squeal, and the other around Karin who was still suspicious about the strangers in their house.

"Come on, we gotta reheat our dinner." Ichigo said softly as he led his sisters away from the tired Hollows. Or little Hollow and pregnant Arrancar, as said Arrancar had no actual hole anymore. He was still trying to absorb the information, despite the miniscule reiatsu he could sense inside Grimmjow. It explained the sudden change in uniform the Sexta had made before their third battle and he felt mixed horror and relief; he was horrified that he fought a pregnant person- stabbed a pregnant person- yet, relieved the small life had survived.

'You've got things to explain, Grimmjow, and good or bad, I'm getting those answers.' He swore to himself. Ichigo then turned his attention to his sisters and their dinner. The two former Espada would have to wait 'til tomorrow.


	3. Chapter 3

'Hot.' It was the initial conscious thought to enter his mind. He wasn't wearing clothes, he determined without opening his eyes, so the thing weighing lightly upon his person and trapping his body heat had to be a blanket. He felt groggy- more so than he'd become accustomed to in the last few weeks-, his belly rumbled with the usual insatiable Hollow hunger, his cub was stirring a bit restlessly (How could such a new reiatsu already know annoyance?), and he was lying on his back. Wait. His back? His body surged forward, sitting upright, and his eyes snapped open. He glared into darkness, searching for danger. Detecting none, he refused to relax. Who knew where an enemy might be lurking? As a Hollow, this was the first and foremost lesson to learn if you hoped to survive any length of time in Hueco Mundo. Sleep was a rare and valuable luxury. If you needed to sleep, regularly or not, you found a hiding place, hid your reiatsu and hoped that you'd awaken unharmed.

Grimmjow had never fallen asleep on his back. Wherever he was at the time, he would curl up tight with his back facing his shelter's entrance so as to protect his soft, meaty parts. When he'd taken over Nel's welfare because her fraccion were dead after their scuffle with Szayel, this method had served another purpose.

"You thuwe you ok? Nel hath mowe th'pit-"

"Fer the last time, brat, I'm fine. And it's VOMIT, YA IMBECILE!"

"Don't yell at Nel!"

"I'll yell at ya all I want! Yer irritatin' and I'm not in the mood to deal with yer annoyin' shit today!"

"Nel ith only twying to help! Gwimm was huwt bad when Ithsygo and Big Boobie lady left! Nel th'pit help Gwimm!"

Grimmjow had, after several days, given up on correcting her about his name. 'Gwimm' was about as close as he'd ever get to 'Grimmjow' with the little girl and it simply wasn't worth the effort. They were traveling rather aimlessly in the desert surrounding Las Noches. Shinigami were running around the castle/city last he'd checked, and from what he'd gathered, they were scientists. He had seen and heard things from Szayel's lab that solidified his decision to avoid them the moment the thought crossed his mind. No way were some twisted psychopaths dissecting him- or defenseless Nel- just to see what made an Arrancar tick. His injuries, thanks to both the Woman and Nel, had healed almost completely in little over a week. His body could heal the rest with time. His clothes had seen better days though. The hakama pants were mostly intact save a few rips at the edges and a diagonal slash on his right thigh. The jacket no longer covered the left side of his chest and was torn and frayed around the gap. There was a slice from his right shoulder to his left hip but the material held, so his lack of Hollow hole wasn't visible. As long as his abdomen was hidden well enough, he could care less about his clothes.

It had been days since he had eaten anything substantial and Nel kept complaining about an 'angwy th'phinctew'. It took a few hours, but he finally managed to discern what she meant. She was hungry: little nuisance didn't know what her stomach was. She continued saying weird things like, 'fondle my thwoat penith' and 'I'm a mathocith'. He concluded that she had no idea what most of those things were and picked them up from her former companions because he'd never said (or would say) sexually inappropriate things around a cub.

They hadn't been walking the sands for too long before he nearly fell over in surprise. His right leg had a sudden weight attached to it and it was moving. Instinct said to knock the foreign thing off and he obeyed. He kicked and shook his leg but the creature was firmly wrapped around his calf. He turned, raising a hand to strike the offender and only managed to stop when he saw what was hugging his limb. Since his pregnancy started, his sensing abilities had diminished greatly. When Hollows sensed each other, it was different than a Shinigami or Human sensing their own kind. The sensed Hollow would know they had been found and where the other Hollow was. This was the technique known as Pesquisa. There were exceptions, like being in close proximity- where another Hollows reiatsu could be felt simply by being in the same area. Pregnant Hollows lost most of their reiatsu control as it fell so they would attract fewer predators. Although, this also left expecting Hollows at risk: they couldn't fight back. Even a Cero was out of the question. His survival was dependant on not being found so even if he could, he wouldn't. He could barely even sense the reiatsu of the being holding onto him. Thus, he'd have to rely entirely on sight and smell to deduce a threat.

"What're ya doin', brat?" he asked Nel. She had her arms and legs wrapped firmly around his leg and something told him he wasn't going free unless she felt like it. He lowered his leg to the ground, the sand giving under his boot, and glared.

"Climbing Gwimm." she stated matter-of-factly.

"…why?" he asked.

"Cuz Nel ith tiyewd." She yawned large, exposing her teeth and the empty spaces where some had to have fallen out.

"What does climbin' me have anythin' ta do with that?"

"Nel climb Gwimm and then theep on hith back."

"No. Get off."

"But Nel'th gonna fall down! My legth ith tiyewd! An' Gwimm say he no wait for Nel if Nel fall'th behind!"

Large gray-gold eyes looked at him wide with fear and exhaustion. He couldn't deny that with her small stature, the distance they'd traveled was probably too much for her short legs. She had every right to worry, she was utterly helpless and he was her only lifeline. Should he leave her, she'd be killed within two, maybe three days if she lasted that long. She couldn't hunt for herself, and didn't remember anything about her life as an Espada aside from the fact that she used to be La Tres at one time. Her eyes pleaded with him, begging him to understand her plight, to keep her from facing death.

'Master, you can't cast off a cub!' Pantera cried.

'…'

'She will die! Alone and terrified, sad and forgotten, another failed little Hollow cub.'

'Why'd I even take her with me in the first place?'

'It is paternal instinct. You will birth a cub, Master, in less than a year. She is without protectors, and knows next to nothing of the dangers this dimension exhibits daily. She was never left unsupervised after she was forced into cub form. She doesn't know about the horrors committed or the terrible things which could be done to her. Her only other companions are dead and she already feels abandoned. She needs you, but more importantly, you need her.'

'For what?'

'It has not rained here in some time, Master. The jungle was once plush and thriving with life, raining all day, a sign of your vitality. Now, it is dry and nothing grows. You have suffered something unspeakably awful, Master, I understand. But with the she-cub, the rains are returning. You are no longer lonely and have a purpose. '

'I ain't lonely!'

'I am your zanpakto. You will have to try lying to someone else, Master.'

Grimmjow knew that Pantera was correct. He may not have cared for them as people, but his fraccion had been his cohorts for a very long time. He hadn't noticed when he'd been alone before he met them, yet it had been there all along. Loneliness. The want of company was generally a stupid thing to wish for, but there it was. When they were killed, he didn't feel sadness or remorse; they were bastards each and every one of them, cowards who gave up on evolving into Vasto Lorde: rapists, murderers of their own mothers and children, twisted and sick that lot. Nevertheless, they had at the very least, been loyal to him. He had not experienced solitude in many years since joining them and becoming their King. His return to Hueco Mundo was an unusually quiet one. His chest ached when he barked orders to remember no one was there to obey. To even speak to, not that any conversation among any of them had been really worth recalling. It was too silent in his chambers, to peaceful…lacking. No one was there to back him up, fight for him when the Shinigami-yarou had-

'Do not stress yourself, Master, it will bode unwell for the cub.'

'I don't even want it! Ya already know what I plan on doin' with it when it's born, Pantera. Nothing ya try ta say will change my mind. So why should I keep this pain in the ass?'

'Because I know you are not that cruel, Master. Can you live with the thought of her being ripped to shreds? Screaming for you to help her, to save her as she is eaten piece by tiny piece? Her arms will scramble, reaching for you to appear and save her from death. Her legs will take her in the direction she last saw you go in, running futilely for protection. Her blood will be swallowed by the parched sand, her bones will crunch between hideous crooked teeth, guts spilling out to dangle like rats tails out of their mouths, tendons twisting like candy between their cheeks, tears pouring down her face, eyes wide with pain and terror as her already broken mask cracks-'

'STOP!' he couldn't stand the picture this was painting. The scenario he knew could become a reality. 'I get it, alright?' his voice a faint whisper.

He refocused on the imp attached to his leg. She wasn't looking at him anymore, instead, her eyes were screwed shut and her limbs were shaking with the exertion of holding on to him for so long.

"Ya sure ya ain't gonna fall?"

Nel opened her eyes and simply nodded, refusing to look anywhere but straight at his leg. Feeling guilt well up in his being his next words were uncharacteristically soft,

"Okay, cub." It was as close to "I'm sorry" as he'd ever get.

Nel was surprised for a moment, and once again began scaling the larger Arrancar, wanting to make herself comfortable before he changed his mind. Unfortunately, her plans were cut short by the pressure of another Hollow's presence.

"Shit!" Grimmjow hissed. He opened his mouth and breathed, tasting the scent. It was a male, most likely Gillian class but in his tired and weakening state it would be unwise to remain in the open. He spun around, looking for the nearest cover. There was a cluster of boulders not too far away that were big enough to hide his frame a few times over, and he took off towards them, Nel holding onto his leg for dear life.

'Let us get there before he notices us!'

As the other Hollow came into view, Grimmjow dropped to his free side sliding towards the closest rock, his body low to the ground, a hand on the rock to curve around it and safely to the other side in the nick of time. He hit the sand without much sound, thank the gods of luck, and dislodged Nel from his leg. She had been quiet and unmoving, but came off willingly enough. He pulled her close to his chest and pressed himself into the rock, waiting for the danger to pass. It didn't.

"Where's it? Gunkyo knows he smells a mama Hollow 'round 'ere." A wet smack could be heard like a long tongue whipping out to rub on one's mask, sand could be heard rustling under the Hollow's feet as he searched.

Grimmjow winced at the 'mama Hollow' remark but made no noise. Nel had buried herself in his arms, knowing that he couldn't fight to protect them, yet seeking comfort from him anyway. The boulder formation circled almost entirely around them, cracks and fissures from past Hollow battles visible on the surface. The developing cub was afraid. Its reiatsu trembled and wavered in fear, as Grimmjow frantically tried to think of a plan.

'Can't use Sonido. He'll catch us if we try ta run from here. Can't fight him the way I am. Nel wouldn't get far even if she was willin' ta leave me behind. Stupid cub.' He took a moment to rest his gaze on her small head and his eyes were drawn to the terrible fracture upon her mask- not even at his worst would he have done such an unthinkable thing to another Hollow much less an Espada. There were so few of them as it was…

'Nnoitra. It's Nnoitra's fault yer stupid. And Szayel. Not yer fault yer an idiot.'

"Come on out, mama! Ah knows you is around 'ere somewhere~! Promise Ah'll make it quick! An' Ah won' eat ya cub! Come on! Gunkyo's hunGRY!"

'As if. He'd eat Nel anyway. What kind of dumbass does he take me for?' Knowing that they'd be found it he didn't do something; he pushed what Pride he had left aside with his Instinct and got to work.

Digging. It had been a long time since he'd ever had to dig himself a sand pit, and now it might be the only way they could dream of getting out of this situation alive. His hands pulled and tossed as much sand as he dared without alerting their predator to their location. Years of practice paid off, even if it had been decades since he'd last done this and his deadly paws were now hands. The hole wasn't as large as he'd be comfortable in but there wasn't any other choice. Nel, for her part, had clung to his body while he worked, her Instincts telling her that he was in the process of saving their lives and to leave him to it.

The Hollow was coming closer and closer every second and Grimmjow scowled.

'I hate being the prey.'

Quickly he yanked Nel off of him and shed his jacket in record time, wrapping her in it. She almost squeaked but bit on her cheeks to remain silent. He then pulled her bundled self into his arms and dove into the hole. The sand immediately began to sift and fall over him, as he pushed and shouldered his way deeper in. His body was boxed up, his limbs folded beneath him in uncomfortable positions, Nel clutched tight in the space between his body and the dry soil. He swore mentally, thinking he'd been too late but he was proven wrong as sand suddenly bombarded his back, shaken by Gunkyo's heavy footsteps nearby. Grimmjow couldn't hear the words but he could make out the other male's voice as he searched for them in vain. Encased as they were in the sand, they would be mistaken for a little desert animal not even worth excavating. The ground shook as he continued to search for his meal but faded as he turned elsewhere and finally, after over an hour, gave up.

Grimmjow allowed himself to audibly exhale in relief. His grip loosened on Nel, lowering her into the sand and placing his arms as far as he could at the edge of the hole. Nel's arms and legs began to move in the confines of his jacket and then it lie under her body in a makeshift bed, just as Grimmjow had intended. Looking her over and certain she was fine, he stretched his body to the limit, unhappy with the size of their hideout. Like many years before, he squirmed and scratched before his legs had enough room to move and then he was shifting and shoving. Sand giving way at his demand until he could stretch out in a comfortable crouch; Nel hidden beneath his belly, arms folded on a sand pillow, and legs spread out to the sides. He packed in the sand so it didn't actually rest on him now, creating a cozy den and relaxed a bit. Nothing could find them here and they could rest after running from Shinigami and Hollows for days without a bite to eat.

The cub in his womb had finally settled; in its fear, the little thing had consumed a chunk of his reiatsu- like it had been doing for the last few days, but far more than usual: not as though it had a choice, Grimmjow was too injured to hunt effectively and weaker Hollows made themselves scarce, so it snacked on his reiatsu to sustain itself. The result was a slower metabolism, and more urgent hunger; the former hindering his ability to sate the latter leaving him exhausted and the cub drowsy. If it kept feeding on his reiatsu, his body was liable to abort the cub registering it as a parasite. He would never admit how much the thought repulsed him.

"Gwimm?"

Broken out of his reverie, he craned his neck and looked down at his little charge.

"What?"

Nel had rolled over onto all fours and crawled up to his neck, trying to get as close to his face as possible. She wriggled ever closer and surprised him by lifting herself up and turning her head to catch his unmasked cheek with a sloppy-child-smooth. Struck speechless, he remained motionless and wide-eyed at the affectionate gesture. Nel then scooted backwards, her brows furrowing with concentration as she fought to pronounce words.

"Grah-ss-ee-ahz-ss…Gw-Gwr-Grrr-immjow." The words were butchered as Nel fought her lisp, but once they were out, she grinned wide, all awkwardly spaced teeth and pink gums. Happy with her mission complete, she made her way underneath his belly. Then, she sprawled out on her back, threw her arms and legs out haphazardly, turned her head to the side and immediately fell asleep.

Grimmjow finally snapped out of it, and blushed. Such a tender act was unheard of among non-family members and that served to prove Pantera's point. He really was all she had left. Her Instincts saw him as a surrogate parent and guardian, which meant, Nel considered him family: A pride-mate. Pantera gave a delighted 'Meroww!' hearing his thoughts, causing his blush to deepen, as he vainly snarled at the zanpakto parallel to his body, knowing that Pantera's hopes wouldn't be deterred by anything he did.

Cubs trusted anyone who didn't eat them to a slight degree and as they spent more time in that person's presence, they could begin to form a bond. A very strong and quick bond for their protection- it was the main reason she got so clingy with Kurosaki after less than a day with him. His immense reiatsu combined with his overall kind, somewhat patient demeanor and tolerance of her maddening antics practically announced to all of Hueco Mundo that he was desirable father material: no way in hell Nel's Instinct's didn't pick this up and have her try to convince Kurosaki that she was a cub worth the effort of raising. She'd accomplished that end to a certain extent, but he had not returned and it was entirely possible Kurosaki was dead. Somehow, though, Grimmjow had the feeling that Kurosaki was alive and whatever reason he had for not retrieving Nel was a damn good one. So when Nel was left with Grimmjow, and no one came to claim her, she'd immediately set about forming a bond with him.

Pantera had a fit: the panther tore up his Inner World in an ecstatic, joyful frenzy that had honestly frightened Grimmjow. Grimmjow had really only agreed to look after her for a few days, until someone came for her, and ended up keeping her on threat of…unpleasant consequences.

"Tch. Damn, sword." He grumbled glaring at the offending blade, "Wantin' a cub. Next ya'll want a mate, too." His words, while angry, were spoken in a low tone, unconsciously obeying the Instinct saying to let the cub sleep. His eyes proceeded to converge on his tiny companion and he noted her position.

"Ya even do sleep wrong, silly brat." Any attempts at annoyed growls came out as rumbling murmurs as he set about one final task. He maneuvered his left arm under their bodies and carefully slipped his hand between her back and his jacket. With gentleness that anyone who knew him would have thought impossible, he flipped Nel over and settled her onto her soft tummy. She rustled a bit, but didn't wake and Grimmjow took the moment to notice how thin she looked and felt. He'd have to find prey within the next day or two, or all of them would be goners. Mind set, he replaced his arm in its previous position and he fell into a half-sleep: body resting but senses alert. Well protected Hollows- and ignorant cubs- were the only ones who could sleep as easily as Nel. When she awoke, he'd have to do a better job at protecting her than this, so he'd need what strength he could muster. Eyes falling half shut, he ignored Pantera's blissful purring.

Grimmjow was wary of his surroundings, and unsure of where he was. He had very few memories of sleeping on a mattress, even after becoming an Espada. And even fewer memories of sleeping on his back; of those memories, he'd trained too hard and collapsed on his bed. Las Noches?

He stretched experimentally, and noticed a tube attached to his hand. It led to a clear plastic bag filled with an equally clear fluid which was dripping down the length of the tube and into his hand. He snatched it with his other hand and gave a tentative tug. The end result was a sting of pain and only then did he notice the tape keeping a needle affixed to his skin. Carefully, he pulled off the adhesive and threw it aside. The needle was exposed now and this time the pain was practically nonexistent as he removed it from his body. He didn't know what the fluid was, but it was always better to be cautious with these sorts of things; it could be a toxin, or bring harm to the cub.

Standing, he held onto the bar- apparently built into the frame- and tested his legs ability to hold him up. He was sore but otherwise alright. He wrapped the sheet- not a blanket like he'd first assumed- around his waist several times so it didn't drag- hid his modesty-, and observed the room he was in.

The room was rather large, in his opinion- about twice the size of his room in Las Noches if he had to take a guess. His bed turned out to be one of a dozen, with five others to the left and the other six across the room. Two doors were adjacent to one another; the closest was straight across from him and the other was positioned in the in center of the wall to his right. There were lights overhead, built into dents in the roof and not one was on. What light there was, streamed in from three windows, revealing the dark sky and a glowing full moon. Two were on the wall to his left, about five feet apart with four small panes and visible bars on the outside- the third was the same. By the corners of the room to his left were what appeared to be large machines and next to each bed was a clear bag hung on a pole with tubing identical to his. Overall, it appeared to be a medical ward crossed with a prison cell. His blue eyes narrowed. Had they been caught? Shit. Not he. They.

'Where the fuck is Nel?' His eyes shot wide with the realization that he was, in fact, alone. He checked the bed first; grabbed the pillow, tossed it away, and frantically scanned the rest of the room for any sign of her small form. He ducked under the bed and saw nothing on the floor on either side but caught sight of a familiar sheath.

"Pantera!" His zanpakto was in a basket-like cubby right in front of him and he was quick to pull him out. He stood and thought how foolish his captors must be to leave him his blade.

'Are you and the cub well, Master? You have slept, unmoving, for days!'His zanpakto's voice was very concerned.

'I'm fine. The cub is fine. Where are we? Did we get captured? Where's Nel?' The last question he asked with actual urgency. She was the kind of child who got themselves into trouble all the time if left to their own devices and he did not like her absence.

'You do not remember?'

'Remember what?'

'Master, we are in the home of Kurosaki Ichigo. We arrived here four nights ago.'

'…we did?'

'Yes! He has done an excellent job of seeing to your care. He even fed you and the cub! Nel is completely alright as well.'

'How can ya be so sure? This don't look like a human house. '

'It is a place of healing built into their home. A "clinic" is what he called it. We are safe here.'

'That's fer me ta decide. Where's Nel now?'

'They left hours ago, Master. They said they were getting food.'

'Wait, Wait. I get the feeling ya ain't talking about Kurosaki and Nel when you say "they". Does somebody else know we're here?' Nothing could be worse than this entire thing being a trap. What if Kurosaki had told the Soul Society and they had Shinigami watching him? Just waiting for him to wake up and cart him off to their dimension and kill him?

'It appears that Kurosaki-san has cubs of his own, Master. Two adolescent females he calls "Yuzu" and "Karin". They get on quite well with Nel. And I doubt Shinigami would dare such a thing.'

'Huh?'

'You were unconscious so I know you haven't realized it yet, but Kurosaki Ichigo is not the same man we faced before.'

'How so, Pantera?'

'He is much more powerful! His reiatsu has grown so much, if we had not met him before, I would doubt his identity. I would say he has outranked Starrk in power, however, I think he is still suppressing his power immensely. I could feel it in my core. He even outright swore to protect us from Soul Society. In fact, he appears to have a feud of some sort with them.'

'No. There's no way he can be that strong! Especially in so little time! It's been hardly a month since we fought and he was barely able to beat us. It's impossible for him ta be beyond El Primera is strength.' Grimmjow's lack of comment about protection did not go unnoticed by his zanpakto, but he refrained from mentioning it.

'But he is! I have felt it! Just wait until they return and you shall see.'

'Che. So, can I leave this place?'

'Yes. The door across from you is unlocked and leads to the main den.'

Tired of the room's too-clean stench, he moved briskly to the aforementioned door and opened it. A soft gust of air rushed passed him as he stepped into the new room, shutting the door behind him. It was not much brighter here but his eyes- made for the dark- had no more trouble seeing everything than they did in the "clinic".

It was a room of leisure. A large "L" shaped white couch was just feet away and before it was a box-thing humans watched moving pictures on (a terrovezion or something) with a bunch of wires and smaller box things they played strange games on next to it. At an angle, nearby the couch was a plush chair with a built in foot rest. A shelf with books was further on, along the right side of the room. The floor was made of wood and cold under his feet.

He walked to an entry way ahead of him and wound up in a…kitchen? He thought that's what they called it. A bunch of huge box machines lined the green walls; the fringe- he was pretty sure it was the food storage box- was silver and had two long black handles in the center running upwards, the stove/oven-cooker-heater thing was facing the opposite wall adjacent to it, and long rows of wooden boxes with small handles clung to the walls. It smelled strange; very much so, but human food was weird at the best of times albeit none of the smells were necessarily bad. He exited the kitchen and instead turned to a stair case- hidden by shadows- he hadn't seen upon entering the room.

Slowly, realizing that it must lead to the bedrooms, he crept over them silently. At the top, he was met with a hall way and began to venture towards the rooms. But something was off. Mid-hall the entire place just changed color. It was too dark to make them all out; however, he could tell that multiple colors had overrun the white and red walls and wood floor. He reached a cluster of doors and paused. Everywhere from the doors to the walls, the ceiling to the floor was oddly discolored and it made him uneasy. He searched the passage way with his hands for a light switch and finding one, flipped it.

It was a massacre. His eyes widened in a shot of horror at the scene. Blue, red, yellow, light purple, white and green…

'Join us, Grimmjow.' The Adjucas bowed before him. Shawlong continued,

'You will not go unrewarded.'

'What's the idea?' He turned his head, blood staining his mouth…

'We do not plan on living our lives as Gillian or Adjucas. We will climb to the top, and become Vasto Lorde. But we need power for that to happen.' The taller Adjucas raised his long claws up to the sky, cupping the moon. 'A strong power to guide us. You are worthy of that role. Come with us, Grimmjow.' He directed a long claw at him. 'You will be our king, Grimmjow.'

…green blood of lesser Hollows dripping from his jaws.

"Nel?" He asked. Hollow blood came in various colors; the redder it was, the further evolved a Hollow was- more human like, closer to Vasto Lorde. Nel was a small, little cub- her blood was probably blue, maybe reddish considering her previous status as an Espada, but she was still weak, easy prey; she had no claws, no sharp teeth, her mask even lacked the horns her adult form once bore. Hadn't Pantera said she was safe here?

He couldn't help it, the irrational fear. It didn't smell like blood, but there was a Hollow reiatsu all over the place he'd apparently ignored until now. A powerful Hollow. Red. There was red. Only now did he see the hand prints, big and small, the clawing marks. Had Kurosaki fought it? It didn't smell, taste, like blood but what other explanation could there be for this? And there had to have been more than one with all the different colors splashed in the corridor. A pack of Hollows? But Nel and Kurosaki were gone right? What happened? Had his zanpakto lied to him? Had Kurosaki lied to Pantera? Or worse, what if Nel had been eaten and Kurosaki had left to hunt down the bastards that ate her? Ate his cub. Nel. He felt anger build inside him, rage he couldn't describe. A growl snared its way out of his chest, his lips pulling back in a snarl as his fists clenched hard enough to draw blood and almost crack Pantera's sheath.

They'd eaten his cub. Whoever they were, they were going. To. Die. He could see it; ripping them limb from limb, stringing them by their own innards as they begged for mercy, like Nel did- he could hear it now,

"Gwimm! Thave me, pleathe! Gwimm!"

She just couldn't be dead. She couldn't be. Not Nel. She had to be hiding. Yeah, that was it. She was just waiting for him to find her.

Pantera tried desperately to reach his Master, but Grimmjow couldn't hear him. He was blocked out by a twinge of madness, anger and hate masking what his Master never wanted to feel. Grief. The little ibex had come to mean a lot to Grimmjow over their time together, even if he wouldn't admit it. Nel was annoying, yes he knew, but she was also sweet and innocent. A loyal child, surprisingly resilient and sturdy (Grimmjow actually made good on the threat of throwing her into the desert once…he'd instantly regretted it and Nel, having survived, hid herself from him for days pouting. When he finally caught her, she had tripped because she was crying- hiccupping and sobbing-, feeling so unwanted- poor thing-, he'd looked into her eyes for just a moment and swore to never do such a thing to her again).

"Nel? Where are ya?"

'Master! She is alive! She is protected by Kurosaki Ichigo! Master! Please listen to me!'

"NEL!"


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I made a small change to the Bleach timeline: where in cannon, Ichigo defeated Aizen after one year or so, in this fanfic, I made it two years. I think went by too fast in cannon and I wanted Ichigo to be seventeen while this is currently taking place about a month and a half after the War's end. Does that make sense? I didn't want to extend Hollow pregnancy to be as long as an elephant's or something for those "17 months" to go by.

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach.

Ichigo sighed. In the last four days he'd been reminded of just what kind of handful Nel was. The first day had been the most difficult; Nel wanted to follow him to school, Grimmjow needed to be monitored, and his boss required him at work that afternoon. He'd managed to talk Nel into staying at the house to "take care of Grimmjow while I'm gone". Really, she just sat on his chest and stared at him, occasionally poked his face. Yuzu and Karin had volunteered to stay and actually take care of him for which he was grateful, but he'd gotten an earful from their teachers when he called in to excuse their absence- evidently they had heard of his MIA status at Karakura High and accused him of turning them into delinquents. He asked his boss for the week off, just to be safe, and had surprisingly received it.

Apparently, he was the most "hard working and valuable" of her employees because according to her, "You remember shit once I explain it without gettin' some dopey look on your face, come to work every day, and get more done than these idiots*motions to her only other two employees, who scoff in disbelief* in a day than they do in a week. To top it off, you don't hit on me or stare at my breasts every waking moment. Hell, I should just fire them and raise your salary." They threw curses at her, insulted more by the fact that she was a woman doing a "mans work", and suddenly he'd got a seven dollar raise on the spot. She even sold him an old American muscle car for cheap when she heard about his situation at home and school.

"This baby'll save you some precious time, ya?" She gave a shit eating grin and handed him the keys.

"No way…" He gasped. She hadn't told him what the make and model were, just that she'd "won it from a poor sap," worked on it and it would be "perfect" for him. He taken a leap of faith, trusting her choice- she was a professional after all and certainly didn't give off the 'swindling-type' of vibe. He wasn't exactly a know-all-classic-cars type of guy, at best he owned a few old auto magazines, but he'd heard a lot about this car; He'd sanded and repainted it himself for a "hot, young buyer" a week and a half ago. A 1968 Dodge Charger R/T.

"Here's the run down." She patted his back understandingly. "This little number is one of the best in her age range when it comes to your driving needs, be it basic street performance or drag racing'. I don't suggest it though," She pointed at him, "unless you make a couple a mods later, after I teach you. That heavy duty suspension provides superior handling in comparison to the typical muscle car and with a powerful 375 hp 440 Magnum V-8, this car runs the quarter-mile in just under 15 seconds. When I got 'er, she was banged up sum' tin fierce. A poorly dressed drag-queen in a beauty pageant, I tell ya. But I spent my entire high school career and early twenties on her and even fitted her with an original Dodge Hemi engine like she deserves. I replaced the leather seating' with cloth just cuz it gets hot with that black paint job and I know what a burned ass feels like. Plenty of room for your lil' sistaz, got brand spanking new airbags and seat belts. Upgraded stereo system, A/C is good, and even a USB hook-up. The downside is, that being in as old as she is, she only gets ten-to-thirteen mpg. Otherwise, she's sweet beast, ya? I didn't have a plan for her when I won 'er, so you can have her. It's better than me collectin' things I don't need- my papa had a problem, ya know? Oh, and don't ask for a gas allowance. Already included in your check."

He officially had the best boss ever. He didn't even mind the fact that it was mostly out of sympathy; she wasn't twenty six yet, and had an eight year old son. It was hard finding honest work for her, and equally honest employees, so when he got the job he made sure to commit; women like her were real tough, hard as nails, and not afraid to through the first punch. She was smart, knew everything there was to know about fixing and upgrading cars. She was the type of person he could respect, and what she got, she returned. It was nice, being appreciated- understood. She didn't even mind his occasional 'breaks' when he went to destroy a Hollow because he always finished his assigned job that day. She treated him like she knew he had a brain. Soul Society could learn a thing or two from her.

"I...Thank you, Rizubet-san." He shook her hand firmly- she refused the notion of bowing, being from the United States it felt odd for her- she patted his back and walked back to the garage to deal with an impatient customer.

It was late evening when the Kurosaki siblings and Nel exited the supermarket. No one had been able to see their tiny green haired companion which was undoubtedly a good thing. Someone would have probably called child services if they'd seen Nel's rags- clean now, they were the only clothes she could wear outside because with human clothes, all people saw was the material moving by itself- pink stigma, scar and cracked skull mask. Ichigo did not want to be accused of child abuse or endangerment; he'd never allow it, he didn't tolerate physical discipline at all, but if it was misconstrued that he'd done such a thing they might take Yuzu and Karin away. The oldest Kurosaki was very glad they had yet to procure her a gigai although he was certain they'd have to before long. For now, when Nel asked a question in public, Yuzu or Karin answered and Ichigo pawned it as an 'imaginary friend' to whoever happened to catch sight of the exchange.

They'd spent all afternoon buying things. Food, mostly, but many things for Nel were bought as well. She needed clothes- for her eventual faux body and running around the Clinic-, and toys to play with- once the concept was explained and understood. Ichigo bought himself a new set of blankets, one red with two black racing stripes, and a thin plain white one; Nel either slept with Grimmjow in the Clinic or with Ichigo in his bed, she never woke him up, which was a tad unnerving considering her usually rambunctious nature, and stole his covers. Sometimes- the last two nights- she'd simply stolen his blankets, thrown them over Grimmjow-where were these little girls getting all this strength from?- and crawled beneath them to cuddle up with the larger Arrancar, warmed by his pilfered body heat. Ichigo was still confused about it, especially when she refused to give those blankets back- he'd managed to sneak them into the washer before their shopping excursion.

While they were there, he made sure to get Grimmjow some clothes because if he had his way, the ex-Espada would be staying in the World of the Living for a while. He'd thrown away the tattered white uniform- he'd had to shred the jacket when they'd arrived- and the other man was a bit larger than himself so his own clothes were out. Ichigo estimated Grimmjow was about two inches taller and had anywhere from twenty to forty pounds more on him. He wasn't too much broader, just heavier in build with surprisingly slender hips and long legs; sweatpants were a safer bet than jeans, so he got several in different colors and three packets of ten-count boxers (Who knew the Espada went commando? He did now. He was happy Grimmjow didn't eat food which required a catheter for disposal- it would have felt like molestation or something.) The shirts had Ichigo waging a war in his head. To buy from the maternity section or cross that bridge- and big cats- when they got there? In the end, he bought four t-shirts and three maternity shirts- all were all plain and white. The only real difference was the loose and soft feel of the material. Women eyed him oddly as he walked out head high, fighting a blush of embarrassment, as he moved towards the checkout counter. He just had to get lost and walk through the lingerie aisle. Joy.

Finally, they were all out and putting things away in the car. Ichigo gave a final heave as he forced the last of the groceries into the Chargers trunk, and brought the hood down with a soft 'thunk'.

When he first showed the Charger to the twins they'd been impressed. They'd never seen an American car up close, much less such an old model and bombarded him with questions. They almost loved it more than he did. And it did save him loads of time getting places; he could sleep in on weekdays- just another half an hour but Ishida mentioned he was more attentive in class-, he didn't have to worry so much about being held after school anymore because he always got to work on time now, he could pick Karin up from soccer practice and Yuzu from her crafts club- she signed up for the after school program because she didn't have to worry about the late hour with the car.

He climbed into the driver's seat, noting Yuzu and Karin had successfully latched Nel into the booster seat they gotten specifically for her- normal people might not have been able to see her but it was the thought that counted, when he managed to get her a gigai he was going to be prepared- and buckled up before starting the engine, and beginning the journey home. When they'd realized Grimmjow probably wasn't going to wake for a while yet, the twins had agreed to come and convinced Nel to do so as well. However, it was very obvious that she knew nothing of the Human World.

"Ithsygo, are you thure it'th not gonna eat uth?" She asked.

"Yes, Nel. The car is not going to be making dinner of us anytime soon." He said, slightly exasperated. He wasn't near the end of his rope or anything, the little girl just kept asking that exact question. This time made the twenty-ninth.

"B-but..!" Her fear wasn't surprising really. She was literally from another world, and a car not doubt sounded and looked like something hungry. To top it off, Grimmjow was incapacitated and they didn't know when he'd wake up. She trusted him, but it had been just the two of them for weeks and she'd become very attached to the panther.

'What didja expect, King?'

Ichigo was so glad that his Inner Hollow's surprise remarks no longer got a physical reaction from him. He didn't want to plow into a bush or an unsuspecting pedestrian. He continued driving as though nothing had happened, passing a glance to the three girls in the back. No one seemed to notice, not that he'd expected them too- Karin and Yuzu were trying to distract Nel from the rolling-death-machines cars were by playing games.

Turning quickly to the road ahead once more, he replied to his Inner Hollow.

'A "hello" would be a nice way to start a conversation, ya know.'

'So would "Cheerio, Gove'na!" what's your point?' Ichigo shook his head,

'Your point was?'

'She's a cub, you twit.'

'Really? I thought she was a "kid".'

'…you are soclever.'

'Yeah, yeah. I know she's a cub. Again, what's your point?'

'*sigh* Were you always this hopeless? Sheesh. Her Instincts are all mixed up. She's accepted you as a parental figure, but she also thinks of Grimmjow as one. Ichigo nodded slightly, he figured that out quickly enough. The night before when he put her under the sheet of Grimmjow's bed- she would steal his covers in two hours- she'd said,

"Nel ithn't sweepy, tou-than." At first he assumed she meant Grimmjow but he'd come to feel otherwise, on an instinctual level. It wasn't like he was disturbed by the idea, he'd been raising kids since he was a kid and Yuzu had called him 'Onii-tou-chan' a few times (did she even realize?), but with Nel it was a bit off-putting; once he got her a faux body, he had the feeling he'd have 'baby-daddy' as another thing to check on his 'Reasons People Think I'm a No Good Hoodlum/Criminal' list.

'More along the lines of a mother, I'd think.'

'Mother?' Ichigo's brows furrowed. Grimmjow would not like hearing that no doubt.

'Yeah. You're the stronger one. To Nel, you represent the "paternal" one- the big, powerful guy who'll fight anything threatin'. Grimmjow's with cub too, don't forget. Nel sees him as the "maternal" parent- if you were both her father, Grimmjow would be "papa" and you're "daddy" where "papa" is really "mama" what with…the penis…or somethin' to that effect, it is Grimmjow after all. Anyway, she's bonded more powerfully with Grimmjow than you; he's kept her safe, and fed the entire time they've been together. She understands that she couldn't be safer with you around, but she isn't as used to your presence as she is to Grimmjow's when she sees somethin' new and frightenin'. Her Instincts are saying she's safe with you and not safe without Grimmjow at the same time. She's kinda freakin' out, King.'

'Oh, I see. But aside from feeding him and his cub there's nothing I can do.' Figuring out how to feed the Arrancar had been a bit difficult at first. He knew that the best option was to hunt another Hollow and have them eat it, but Grimmjow wouldn't wake up. Nel seemed happy enough with human food. He wondered about it until she answered,

"There'th food in Nel'th mouth when Nel bweathe'th." He wasn't completely oblivious as most everybody believed. His reiatsu was always flooding the house and clung to everything.

He'd learned that most Hollows avoided anywhere he frequented and came to the conclusion that they feared his reiatsu. He was so powerful, instead of a good meal; they saw a quick ride to Soul Society. So he let it release wildly in the house, and his friends residences- except Ishida, who shot arrows at him for trying- not enough to crush anyone, but enough to keep the inhabitants safe well after his departure.

It's thickness in the Kurosaki Clinic was so vast Nel didn't have trouble breathing there: the air was heavy enough with his reiatsu to even provide for Nel's food needs. So he unleashed more reiatsu while in the house to supply his Hollow guests with a more natural environment. His sisters were already accustomed to its weight and didn't appear to notice at all.

His Inner Hollow had brought up the more urgent task of feeding Grimmjow, who was too powerful to get by on his loose reiatsu alone. It was simple really. He gathered reiatsu into a concentrated ball in the palm of his hand, much like building up a cero, and gently eased it into Grimmjow's abdomen. The cub hiding inside him absorbed it almost like a sponge, a subtle draining like affect. Grimmjow absorbed much more and it took two days before Ichigo could compress the right amount of reiatsu to feed them both in one sitting. If he had to guess, based on reiatsu alone, Grimmjow's meals were usually Hollows of fukutaicho level. Ichigo was easily twice, thrice as strong as an average taicho at his usual suppressed level while in spirit form- his human body had to be altered before he'd been allowed to enter it after the War so he didn't put out more than before he'd ever become a shinigami-, even if the others didn't feel it was that much, he was constantly putting conscious effort into holding it that low and his nakama were simply too used to his humongous reiatsu output. Thus, the drain wasn't too bad. He also fed Nel that way, because it was apparently better for her growth. He pondered how his Inner Hollow could know such things.

'They're Hollows~, I'm a Hollow~.'

'You live inside me. You've gone nowhere I haven't been and everything I know, you know. How do you know these things and I don't?'

'Instinct. My Instinct is Hollow Instinct. Your Instinct is Vaizard-Shinigami-Human-whatever-you've-evolved-into-this-week Instinct.'

'Wouldn't Vaizard Instinct be the same damn thing as Hollow Instinct?'

'What sense would that make? A Vaizard isn't a Hollow. A Vaizard is a Hollow-Shinigami hybrid. Your Instincts are all fucked up. Probably why you make us go fight things stronger than us all the time. Hollow Instinct is all about survival. Shinigami Instinct is about killing Hollows. You get mixed reception, King. No way you know too much about either side: you got some Hollow Instinct, some Shinigami Instinct, but mostly Human Instinct. You're good with brats from your species; it stands to reason that I'd know how to deal with mine, at least, as far as the basics are involved.'

'Thanks for the clarification.' Ichigo sighed, having no choice in the fact that he'd just have to live with it. He slowed the car, and carefully, as always- they lived in a residential area and who knew when a random kid might jump in front of him?- he pushed the button on the garage remote he kept in the glove box, and parked inside. He unbuckled himself, could hear the girls doing the same, and closed the large metal door with another push of the same button. Everyone climbed out, and he popped the trunk open. Just as Nel was being perched on his shoulders so she wouldn't be in the way, they heard a loud voice.

"WHERE THE FUCK ARE YOU?"

Karin and Yuzu jumped and Nel fell off him. He caught her and pushed her to his sisters, Karin grabbing the small Arrancar. Someone was in their house. They didn't know who, but for someone to have gotten passed Ichigo's wards- Kido he'd learned from Tessai-san during the War, backed by his tremendous power? Not even he could feel who they were unless they were both in the house (the garage didn't count) - they had to be powerful and not of the average variety.

"Onii-chan?" asked Yuzu.

"Go to Orihime's." he answered. Ichigo then fought out of his body, and laid his body under a nearby work table. His right hand on Zangetsu's corded hilt, he made for the door leading inside and clenched the handle. "You'll be safe there, and Orihime knows Nel. Stay there until I come get you."

"Gwimm! Ithsygo, what about Gwimm? Gwimm could be-"

"He'll be fine Nel. A tough guy like Grimmjow won't go down without a fight. If he's in trouble, I'll save him, alright? For you." Nel met his gaze, searchingly. A moment later, she asked, "Pwomithe?"

"On my life, Nel."

"But Ichi-nii-" Karin began to protest, but stopped when she saw her brother looking at her with hard eyes. It was not up for discussion, it was an order. He would not take no for an answer. Karin straightened up- she always felt like she had far too much to live up to with a brother like Ichigo, and at moments like this she was reminded that he wasn't just her brother. He was a warrior- a soldier ready for battle, and always would be. Instead of speaking she nodded, turned and herded the other girls out the door, lifting it just enough to roll under, and after entwining her left hand with her twin's right, began running the normally fifteen minute walk to Orihime's apartment with Nel tucked under her free arm.

Ichigo felt the girls move away as he gently turned the doorknob and entered the house. His hand pulled Zangetsu free and leaned him against the door. He didn't want to risk harming Grimmjow with his zanpakto.

'He's gotta be looking for Nel.' Ichigo wasn't about to let Nel or his sisters in when Grimmjow was having a fit- not some random intruder. An intruder would mostly likely human, and no human could pose a threat to himself or Grimmjow no matter how weak the latter may have been. Her concern was warranted, she was worried he might hurt himself much like she almost had ("That's not A BATHTUB NEL!" "Whh~hhy i~ttt~~h N~nn~el tho~ooo dipthy?").

If Grimmjow thought Nel was missing, it was understandable if he flipped, Ichigo was prepared for it, but to be yelling with such desperation? No, something had to have set the ex-Sexta Espada off. He was volatile in a good mood. Depending on how he handled the situation, this could get very ugly, very fast.

He walked with practiced steps, his robes not making a sound- a credit to Yoruichi's training- in the niche like hallway behind the kitchen. He could hear and sense Grimmjow in the living room, and squatted low next to the refrigerator, peering into the dark space.

"Nel? Get your ass out where I can see it already!" The sky-blue haired man was dressed only in what was a either a towel or a sheet wrapped around his hips as he tore apart their new recliner. Burgundy cloth and foam stuffing was flying as chunks were torn out, one handful at a time.

Aside the recliner, there were objects on the floor; a lamp, books, miscellaneous containers, a waste bin and its contents. Was that Pantera? It looked like the zanpakto had been drawn and then dropped onto the floor along with its sheath. From here, Ichigo could see that the dining table and chairs had also been thrown aside.

'At least he left the walls untouched.' The problem was how to diffuse the metaphorical bomb. He didn't wish to startle Grimmjow, stress was bad for pregnant people, but following that logic, wasn't he extremely stressed now? Grimmjow didn't appear to have noticed him, which in itself was odd, and his movements were a bit clumsy, although a certain amount of lethargy was common place after sleeping for so long.

"This ain't funny, ya brat!" Ichigo's eyes widened at the other male's tone. He was scared. Well, anxious might be a better word for him- 'Grimmjow' and 'scared' just didn't work together.

"GOD DAMN IT!" Ichigo watched Grimmjow as he seemed to take a moment to get himself together. He stood a little straighter, his shoulders rolled, his hands fisted and released repeatedly, his breathing was hard, and Ichigo saw his chance.

Slowly, he rose to full height and walked into the living room. Grimmjow immediately registered his presence and tensed. They were still for a long time, just staring. Grimmjow eyed Ichigo up and down, visibly relaxing a tad when he noticed no zanpakto. Ichigo only held his ground, refusing to further approach the unpredictable man. Grimmjow's blue eyes glowed in the poor lighting. His pupils were blown wide, like one would expect of any cat, and it was then that Ichigo realized what was wrong. Grimmjow's eyes were distant and dull- he was sleep walking.

'Oi, King.'

'Now's not a good time.'

'Brace yourself.'

Ichigo's Inner Hollow warned him just in time, albeit he could see for himself just fine. Grimmjow had charged and pounced not a second later. Ichigo didn't take his advice; instead he let Grimmjow knock him to the floor. He lowered his reiatsu as much as possible as he and the Arrancar started to wrestle on the floor. He wasn't even winded by the impact and was quick to grab Grimmjow's hands in his own. The larger man struggled, jerking and spitting, pristine white teeth bared and snapping, wild hair in more disarray than usual, and his strong thighs squeezing Ichigo's hips to hold him in place.

"Where is she?"

"Grimmj-"

"Where's Nel, ya son of a bitch!"

"I'm tr-"

"Tell me!"

Ichigo, deciding that rationality wouldn't work this way, almost effortlessly flipped them over. Grimmjow was temporarily shocked by the sudden change in position, giving Ichigo the time to press down on the once-Espada. They were chest to chest, stomach to stomach, hips on hips. Ichigo's body pressed down on Grimmjow to stop his violent movements entirely- not too much, he didn't want to hurt the baby-, his hands entwining their fingers to push his arms down more effectively. Grimmjow stilled and went limp, but Ichigo did not release him lest it be a trick to get him to lower his guard.

"Grimmjow?" Ichigo prodded gently. Their faces were just inches apart and he was sure the other male could bite him from such a distance. The feral neon-blue eyes softened with emotion in a way that was so out of character, Ichigo couldn't help but pity their owner.

"Where is she?" Grimmjow's normally strong, confident voice wavered. His eyes were too wide, posture suddenly defeated and submissive. "Where's my cub?" His voice cracked, and there was no mistaking the desperation in him.

Ichigo sympathized- he'd probably behave similarly if the roles were reversed. Grimmjow was still too out of it, though. He had to recognize Ichigo before he could get an answer, else he might forget.

"Grimmjow," He tried again, "do you know who I am?"

The other man shook his head, no.

"Look at me."

"Why? I don't care who ya are. Where's my cub?" Grimmjow never turned his head away but wouldn't meet Ichigo's eyes either. He stared into his shoulder, the ceiling, his hair, anywhere but Ichigo's gaze. Ichigo felt Grimmjow's fingers curl tightly against his own.

"I know where she is."

The response was immediate bucking and snarling once more. "Where? Tell me ya stupid fucker!" Grimmjow's fire was back but by now, Ichigo knew it was just a cover for how he really felt.

"Not until you look at me." He pressed more firmly onto Grimmjow.

"The fuckin' hell I will! I want my cub! Give her ta me or I'll-"

"Attack me? Kill me? If those are the only things you know how to do, why should I give her to you at all?"

"Nel's my cub. I want my cub."

"So look at me."

"Aargh!" Grimmjow tried to fight his way out from beneath the other male. What did he want? Why wouldn't he leave him alone? Why wouldn't he tell him where his cub was? Unless…

…ripped to shreds? Screaming for you to help her, to save her as she is eaten piece by tiny piece? Her arms will scramble, reaching for you to appear and save her from death. Her legs will take her in the direction she last saw you go in, running futilely for protection. Her blood will be swallowed by the parched sand, her bones will crunch between hideous crooked teeth, guts spilling out to dangle like rats tails out of their mouths, tendons twisting like candy between their cheeks, tears pouring down her face, eyes wide with pain and terror as her already broken mask-

"Y-ya ate her, didn't ya?" He gasped. His Instincts wept in denial. Tiny, feeble Nel…

"Look at me and tell me who I am. Then, you'll know whether or not I did."

Having no choice but to oblige, Grimmjow did. When wounded glowing blue met compassionate gold-flecked chocolate brown the whole world came to a halt. The only sounds were their breathing, and the faint humming of the refrigerator light years away. Ichigo watched in fascination as Grimmjow's pupils shrank minutely and his expression hardened into something more familiar. Recognition was visible a moment later, "Kurosaki?"

"You alright, Grimmjow?" Ichigo sighed already knowing his answer.

For a split second Grimmjow was obviously confused, but he stiffened suddenly, struck by memories of recent events, before speaking, "Ya said ya know where Nel is. Tell me, Kurosaki. And get the hell off me!"

Ichigo almost laughed but wisely kept his mouth shut. It was humorous how Grimmjow struggled under him- like a house cat trying to get out from under a wet towel. He released the other and stood up, offering a hand to the former Espada- which was promptly smacked away. He observed the Arrancar with a critical eye, not once forgetting his condition, and checking for any abnormalities in his posture. Grimmjow was then standing across from him, seemingly nothing out of the ordinary with his body, missing Hollow hole notwithstanding. Ichigo was so intent on making sure he was physically unharmed, he didn't notice Grimmjow's expression. At first, he scowled- he wanted his motherfucking answer- and then his face took a look of curiosity.

'Why is Kurosaki starin' at me like that?' He wondered himself what was so bloody fascinating about his person. He supposed his lack of Hollow hole and cub would certainly draw attention but Ichigo wasn't staring at his abs. His eyes were raking up and down, from head to foot. Grimmjow noticed his face was being studied and made to touch his cheek. His fingers found his jaw mask, and he didn't feel any pain so what was the other man looking at?

'Perhaps he wishes to mate with you, Master.' Damn his zanpakto. He flinched at the sound in his mind before the words registered.

'Wha-why-w-! Y-ya-he's-Kuros-what?' Grimmjow cheeks grew hot as he realized the scrutiny would actually make sense if such were the case. 'I knew it.' He growled mentally. 'I knew ya'd want a mate!'

'Be reasonable! He would make an exemplary mate! He has shown a prowess with Nel and his own cubs that reveals he has years of experience with little ones. He is morally sound, intelligent, and powerful- think of his influence on the unborn cub! The cubs he could sire! He can even feed all three all you without detectable drain on his reiatsu. He could undoubtedly feed your litters with ease.'

Grimmjow's flushed cheeks darkened, unaware that Ichigo was getting closer one cautious step at a time- worried about the abrupt reddening of Grimmjow's face.

'L-litters? Why would I mate with him? Every time we're in the same place, we've been trying ta kill each other! Even if I was…attracted ta him, why would he mate with me? Besides that he's got a harem doesn't he? The weak, black-haired shrimp and the woman-with-enormous-breasts Aizen had us kidnap, fer starters. And what's this about feeding us?'

'I doubt Kurosaki-san is mated to either one. Neither lives with him nor mothers his cubs. I hardly believe he finds them suitable for such a task. And not one compares to yourself, Master. You're cubs would be terribly beautiful, if the reasons I gave previous were not enough. He has shown no qualms about adopting cubs, the two he is already raising are his younger sisters- it appears that their dam and sire are either dead or absent and he has taken on the task of parenthood. He will readily, if not having done so by now, adopt Nel into his family. Who is to say the same could not be expected of the unborn cub? That belief is the whole basis on your decision to abandon it upon birth. About the feeding, you can ask him yourself. He is right-'

"You okay, Grimmjow?"

'-there.'

Grimmjow was snapped out of the conversation with his zanpakto by both Ichigo's voice and his hand on his forehead. His warm, warm hand. Startled by the shorter males proximity he stepped back, blush darkening once more, this time at being caught off guard.

"Just tell me where the fuck Nel is already, aho!" He was tired of waiting.

"Easy, she's safe. She's at Orihime's apartment." Ichigo put his arms up, displaying his weaponless state. Grimmjow blinked.

"… the Woman?"

"Well, a woman. You realize I know more than one of those, right?"

"Ya know what I mean." He growled. "Why's she there?"

"Because you were yelling like a lunatic, and tearing up my house?"

"What the hell are ya-" Grimmjow took the time to look at their surroundings. It was a freaking mess; there was broken glass, chairs, books, paper, and fluffy material all over the floor: a table was turned over and diagonally propped against the wall behind them and Pantera was lying prone nearby, exposed and separate from his sheath. "…oh." Grimmjow had the decency to look and sound ashamed (if only a little). 'Way ta go, baka!' He mentally reprimanded himself. 'I need him ta do me a fuckin' favor, and I tear up his den?'

"Not your fault, I guess." Ichigo exhaled, shaking his head. "By the way, what made you freak out like this?" He asked, motioning his arms towards…everything.

"I found that mess from the Hollows ya been eatin' upstairs. I thought…Nel…ya know."

It was Ichigo's turn to blink. "Hollows? I don't eat Hollows. The only ones that have even been in the house recently are you and Nel."

"What?" Grimmjow's expression became incredulous and then angry. 'How dare he lie ta me?' The blue-haired man gripped Ichigo's wrist and began dragging him up to the second floor. Ichigo let him. Then, Grimmjow flicked the switch and light illuminated the passage. Realization dawned on Ichigo.

"What's yer explanation fer this?"

"Paint."

"Paint?"

"Paint is a kind colored ink, you could say. Just a whole lot thicker and messier in this case. Where you use ink for mostly for writing, paint can be used on buildings and canvas to make art and stuff."

"I know what paint is! Just…only ever seen it in black and white. So, this," Grimmjow motioned, "was ya colorin' yer den? Why? Fer ya cubs?" Grimmjow was completely oblivious to the cute-with-curiosity look his facial features adopted.

"Cubs?"

"Ya have sisters don't ya?"

Ichigo was mildly shocked. "Yeah, but how do you know that?"

"Pantera told me." Grimmjow stated matter-of-factly. "Which brings up another thing; how does Pantera know that?"

"While you were unconscious I had Zangetsu talk to your zanpakto to see if there was anything else wrong with you. When I saw you like that I thought Pantera hadn't had the chance to talk to you since you'd awoken. But…yeah, pretty much."

'See how he goes out of his way to make to make them happy?'

'Shut. Up.'

"Then how do ya have Hollow powers?"

"It's a long story so I'll make it short. When my mother was killed seven years ago…a part of me literally died with her. However, it was too small a part for me to die altogether. My Shinigami powers were originally 'borrowed' and when Soul Society found out, they were stolen two years ago, and in the process of awakening my own, my Inner Hollow gained enough power to manifest in my Inner World. He shares a spirit body with Zangetsu most of the time, but they can exist separately if they want to. When he awoke, I gained access to Hollow powers."

"Ah. So, what in the sevens hell's are ya? Ya ain't a Shinigami or a Hollow."

"A Shinigami who gains Hollow powers is called a Vaizard. There are nine of us in total."

"Yer tellin' me there are eight other people like ya?"

Ichigo shrugged. "It shouldn't be so surprising. Although, I should point out that Aizen create the others, I'm the odd one out. My dad used to be a Shinigami taicho too, on top of everything."

Grimmjow's face became serious. "Why?" Why would Aizen have done such a thing? Didn't he already have the Espada?

"He was experimenting with Hollowification a little over a century ago. The other Vaizards were the only survivors of his experiments. They were all former taicho and fukutaicho."

Grimmjow's eyes widened at the information. "A century? But we never heard of these guys… shouldn't they have been our allies?"

"They retained their Shinigami selves and are Shinigami by default. They fought their Inner Hollows and gained control other themselves again. Then, they went into hiding because Soul Society thought they'd lost their minds. They helped us fight against Aizen and win the War. During the battle in Fake Karakura, I heard Aizen call them, 'failed pseudo-Arrancars.' We're pretty sure once he saw that Shinigami weren't going to be successful, he turned to Hollows and gave you all Shinigami powers. I haven't heard from them since then."

"We were just experiments?" Grimmjow was honestly surprised.

"From what I saw, yeah."

"What did ya see exactly?"

"He sliced the Tercera Espada in half. He said she wasn't useful after being held off by two Vaizard and a taicho. He said she had taken too long and then she was in two separate halves, cut horizontally at the waist, heading for the ground."

Grimmjow gaped. "What?" Aizen had… turned on them like that?

"The Primera saw it happen and changed sides. He said he was loyal to Aizen because Aizen had given him strong comrades so he wasn't lonely anymore. When he saw Aizen's betrayal, he lost it. He attacked Aizen, but was tricked by one of his illusions and ended up injuring his fraccion, Lilynette."

Grimmjow was in disbelief. Had they really meant so little to Aizen? To add insult to injury in such a despicable manner…

"Did…did she…?"

"She lived. Orihime healed them all. Why?" Ichigo was honestly curious. He wouldn't have pegged Grimmjow to care about the other Espada. In fact, he believed Grimmjow hated them, so why the concern?

"She was his cub!" Grimmjow snapped. "Not by traditional means, but she was his blood. The only way ta get that lazy ass wolf ta do anythin' worth doin' was ta threaten her and then, he'd be the last thing ya ever saw. Annoyin' brat, Lilynette, but a cub's a cub, Kurosaki."

"I suppose you would know, huh?" Ichigo smirked. "I can't figure why you would care about someone else's kid, though."

Grimmjow became pensive and remained silent, eyes drifting downcast. After a few moments he began to speak again, eyes trained on the floor. "Cubs are rare. Rarer than Vasto Lorde. If ya ever see one, it'll be the last one ya ever see. Most Hollows don't care about 'em- the lack of hearts and all. I've always been apart from them like that. I think…I remember things from my human life and I'm pretty sure I had a couple o' brats then, so I'm soft in that respect. It's not like I got a problem with 'em necessarily, but I'm not the kind o' person who should be a parent."

"What are you saying?" Ichigo's brows furrowed. He did not like where this was going.

"The reason we came here was ta ask ya fer protection. I can't hunt or protect Nel anymore. Ya only gotta do it 'til I have the cub," Grimmjow's hands subconsciously began to lightly rub his belly, "then ya can keep it and Nel and I'll be outta yer hair."

"Grimmjow…" He definitely did not like where this had gone.

"Nel's gonna stay with ya, one way or another. I'm not some arrogant fool, Kurosaki. I know when I'm beaten and raisin' cubs ain't what I'm cut out fer."

"Bullshit!"

Grimmjow jumped slightly at the unexpected outburst. "What?"

"Don't you try bullshitting me with that excuse, Grimmjow!" Ichigo's face was thunderous, and Grimmjow took a step back when Ichigo pointed a finger at him, half anticipating a blow. "That mess down stairs wouldn't have happened if it were that simple. If you didn't care. You begged for Nel when you thought she was in danger or hurt."

"It's just Instinct! Once I kit, I'm not gonna like her anymore and what I don't like, I either kill or eat, Kurosaki."

"Keep telling yourself that and maybe you'll believe it someday. I've seen the way she looks at you. The way her eyes get wide and she starts talking too fast in excitement when it's about you. She went out of her way to make you comfortable. She stayed by your side almost the entire time you were out. Nel loves you. I would bet money on the fact that you love her. What you just said proves you care for her well-being."

"…screw it. I don't what I was thinkin' when we came here." Grimmjow growled, uncomfortable. He turned and began walking down the hall. He didn't care where he was going or how he'd survive without assistance, anything was better than getting his head played with. This thing with Nel was temporary, that's what he'd decided all those weeks ago. His paternal Instinct's wouldn't let her die under his watch, but once he kitted, those Instincts would go away, right? It was better to leave her in the World of the Living, where he wouldn't be a threat and she could grow up around humans without fear of being eaten. His cub wouldn't have to ever know the horrors of Hueco Mundo and if it took after its sire…he wouldn't have to remember how it happened. It was better for all parties involved.

Ichigo had other ideas. He lunged forward and wrapped his arms around Grimmjow, pinning the Arrancar's arms to his sides before he made it to the stairs. The other man struggled weakly, but gave up knowing he couldn't break the hold.

"What are ya doin', Vaizard?"

"…"

"Release me or-"

"I'll do it."

"…"

"I already promised Nel I would protect you. From Hollows, Soul Society, even my friends. I just have two conditions."

"…what are they?"

"One: you try. After the baby's born, give parenting a shot. After a few days if you still want to leave, I won't stop you. If you leave I'll take them in, no questions asked."

"Second?"

"You tell me who the father is."

Grimmjow stiffened, his breath hitching, his eyes widened unseen to Ichigo. "Why does it matter?"

"Every child deserves to know where and who they come from, Grimmjow. It doesn't have to be right this minute. I don't care if it's a week or a month from now, the moment you leave even… as long as I know. You don't have to tell me how this happened," Ichigo moved a hand to rest on Grimmjow's hands over his belly, "or why. I won't mention it unless you give the say so. If I end up raising him or her, in your stead, I want to be able to answer the difficult questions to the best of my ability."

"What's wrong with ya?" Grimmjow murmured, subconsciously beginning to lean against the shorter male. "All I've ever done is hurt ya and yer friends. Why are ya so willin' to aid me?"

"I'm soft like that." Ichigo returned. "I can't stand seeing people helpless when I can do something about it. It wouldn't be right to throw you out or try to even old scores. The War's over. Aizen is dead. Life has to go on."

They stood in silence for a very long time, neither caring. Grimmjow was juggling his options and Ichigo was waiting for his conclusions. By the time Grimmjow had come to a decision, he was leaning almost completely on Ichigo, obliviously enjoying the thrum of the mighty reiatsu oozing from the teenager. Ichigo didn't seem to mind, if he noticed, but loosened his grip around the ex-Sexta. Hands were not moved by either man.

"I get ta decide when?"

"Yes."

"Ya won't ask unless I give ya permission?"

"Yes."

"I agree ta yer terms."

Ichigo sighed in relief. Slowly, he and Grimmjow distanced themselves, the latter almost in a daze like state.

"So, when is she coming back?" Grimmjow turned to him and asked.

"Ne- Oh, crap!" Ichigo barked. Grimmjow startled at the sudden outburst.

"What?"

"I totally forgot! I was supposed to get them when the coast was clear!" Ichigo spun on his heel and charged into a room, passing through the wooden door as though it wasn't there. "Waah!"Grimmjow heard. Ichigo was quick to come back, a frantic look on his face. "It's been four hours! Yuzu's gonna have a panic attack!"

"A what attack?"

"Doesn't matter! I gotta go get them before they think something went wrong!" Ichigo raced down the hall and stairs, Grimmjow on his heels.

"I'm comin' with ya!"

Ichigo stopped just as he readjusted Zangetsu on his back. One look at Grimmjow and he shook his head. "Not like that you aren't!"

"Like what?"

"Half a toga! You're three-fourths nude! I don't want them seeing that!"

Grimmjow flushed lightly, and clenched his fists. "It's not like I know where my clothes are, Kurosaki!"

Ichigo suddenly remembered, "I got clothes for you earlier. They're in here!" Ichigo opened the door to the garage and motioned for Grimmjow to follow. He did so quickly, and watched as Ichigo pulled his body out from somewhere and slipped into it.

Ichigo's human body wore a black t-shirt and blues jeans with a black belt and running shoes on. He stood- lying his body down before he got in made the process easier- and dug in his pocket for his keys. He ran around to the back of the car, opened the trunk and dove into the bags. The bags rustled, irritatingly, but he was fast in pulling out one shirt, pair of sweats and a packet of boxers. He threw the t-shirt to Grimmjow and ripped open a packet. He then tossed a set of boxers and the sweats to Grimmjow who paused, puzzled.

"What did you give me both of these?"

"Because I didn't need to know that you don't wear anything under your pants."

Grimmjow's cheeks were painfully hot the moment Ichigo finished his sentence. Now Grimmjow knew who had stripped him bare. He sputtered before asking, "T-that's irrelevant! Why would I put on shorts under my pants?"

"It's a human custom! As long as you're staying under my roof, you're wearing underwear!"

"Where are yers then?"

Ichigo pulled his shirt up, yanked his pants down a little and pulled his own black boxers up for Grimmjow to see. "There. Happy?" He rearranged himself. "Now put those on so I can go!"

"Oi! I told ya, I'm comin' too!"

"No, you aren't! People can't see you! They'd think the clothes are moving on their own! You need to stay here and wait for me to bring them back!"

"Why should I?"

"So you don't stress yourself more than you already have! And you need to clean up that mess you made."

Grimmjow glowered, but conceded that Ichigo had a point. "Ya'll be back quick?"

"Ten minutes tops."

"Fine, but ya better not be lyin' ta me!" He growled.

Ichigo closed the trunk and jumped into the driver's seat, opening the large garage door. "I'm not lying! Now go get dressed!" He hollered out the window, before he turned the car on- the engine startling Grimmjow-, closing it, and taking off for Orihime's apartment.

Grimmjow glared at the metal sliding door angrily before shaking his head and forcing himself to calm down. It wouldn't do to fret about things he had no control over. Kurosaki was a man of his word so there was no reason to believe he'd deceive him.

Grimmjow spent a minute just looking at the old ensemble. Did he really have to put clothes over more clothes? Human were strange. He knew enough about their clothes to know that the little tag was on the inside back of clothing, which helped him some. The shirt and pants were plain, the first white and the second red. The "underwear" was a set of gray shorts with a springy band at the top. He undid the sheet and set it hap hazardously on the work table he saw nearby. He pulled the shirt on easily, and then grudgingly slipped into the shorts. They were amazingly comfortable. He stepped in the pants next and pulled them a little higher than the shorts like Ichigo had done. They were a bit loose on his hips so he pulled at the draw strings in the front and they tightened obediently.

"Not bad." He admitted. Nothing was pinching or pulling where it shouldn't. He couldn't even tell he was wearing the shorts. His only grievance was that the legs were too long on the pants and they concealed his feet. He returned to the living room, mentally noting the small hallway, and grimaced at the mess. He missed when he had cronies to do this kind of crap for him. But diligently he got to work, righting the furniture and putting everything where it appeared to go. He had Pantera back in his sheath and leaned him against the way near the table. He couldn't wear his zanpakto but supposed he probably wouldn't need to now. The trash he dumped in the tall bin, once he stood it up again and by the time he heard the rumbling car return, he was done. He washed his hands in the kitchen sink- that foam stuff smelt funny and the scent was clinging to his hands- and stalked impatiently into the garage once more. He was just passed the door when he heard it.

"Gwimmjow?" Nel was held in Ichigo's arms. The orange haired man faced him and said something but Grimmjow didn't care about that. He surged forward as Nel leapt away from the other man and dove into his chest, his arms encircling her protectively. "Nel mithed you, Gwimm! Nel mithed Gwimm vewy much!"

She crumpled his shirt in her small fists, her face buried in his chest, and he could feel her trembling against him. His Instincts reared up and went into overdrive. He held her small form tighter, pulled her closer until she had to lift her little face to see him and he nuzzled her. He rubbed their cheeks, pushed his forehead against hers, and pressed their noses together. A purr rumbled from deep and low in his chest as she snuggled into him. He forgot about everyone else. He wouldn't have cared if they saw. He finally had his cub.

Ichigo watched for a moment as Nel cuddled with Grimmjow. The normally brusque man was being affectionate and loving in a way that made Ichigo smile lightly. However, it wasn't his business. This was all Nel and Grimmjow and he had no intention of intruding. Quickly, he and the twins took the groceries inside- all being as quiet as possible, not willing to interrupt the two Arrancar. Luckily, it went off without a hitch in two trips because Ichigo carried more than five bags on each arm and several in each hand. They left the light on and the door open so the two could come inside when they so chose.

When Ichigo carefully put the last cluster of bags on the kitchen counter, Yuzu scolded him about letting the ice cream melt and ingredients spoiling even though he was sure most of it was salvageable. Karin gave him grief over making them worry, seeing as he was practically invincible he shouldn't have made them wait that damn long. He knew and took it without a word in his defense, letting them blow off steam in the typical Kurosaki way- ranting. He swore that Masaki had never done it herself, but they didn't know Isshin's name from when he lived in Soul Society and it was in better Ichigo's mind to keep their father's ego to a minimum. So, ranting in the "Kurosaki" fashion it was. He hoped their guests couldn't hear it.

After all was said and done, despite the late hour, Yuzu began making Miso Soup. Orihime had offered them food- she always did- but the twins had learned from their big brother how to avoid poison; in all its freaky, watermelon-in-fish-head-curry-with-red-bean-paste-and-garlic-sauce strangeness. Ichigo ordered the twins to put on their pajamas while he watched the food, and they listened reluctantly. Yuzu returned first of course and was adding the finishing touches when Grimmjow- Nel in his arms- entered the house. Karin was halfway down the stairs ("Come on, Yuzu! Ichi-nii taught you how to make Miso Soup. It'll be fine."), Yuzu was turning the stove off, and Ichigo was sitting at the dining table.

"You guys hungry?" Ichigo offered.

Grimmjow's body language was entirely different from before, Ichigo observed. His back wasn't as ridged, his steps slower, his shoulders lowered- overall he looked very much like a contented panther. Grimmjow yawned large, his sharp canines gleaming in the light. Ichigo noticed Nel attempt to discreetly mimic him, and more or less succeed…sort of. She was still too small and missing too many teeth to achieve the same effect, albeit it was a funny display nonetheless.

"That's somethin' I forgot to ask about. How have ya been feedin' us?"

"Mind if I feed Nel to show you?" The mentioned girl squirmed happily in Grimmjow's arms. She turned her big pleading eyes towards Grimmjow and asked,

"Pleathe?" He really was going soft. Grimmjow unenthusiastically walked up to him, and passed Nel into Ichigo's arms. Ichigo sat Nel on his knee, one hand keeping her steady as he gathered the reiatsu ball in his right palm. Everyone watched as blue outlined black reiatsu flickered and licked like flames in a sphere Ichigo concentrated. It grew to the size of a kickball and then shrunk down to the size of a handball faster than even Grimmjow could see. Slowly, Ichigo then pushed the ball along into Nel's stomach.

Grimmjow refrained from lunging forward and punching Ichigo across the face. It unnerved him, whatever Ichigo was doing. It looked an awful lot like a cero building in his hand and his protective Instinct's were still up. He looked to Nel for any signs of discomfort or some sort of excuse to hit the other male and found the exact opposite.

Nel was grinning happily, and had begun to make a humming sound as her body apparently absorbed Ichigo's reiatsu. The reiatsu ball entered her harmlessly until Ichigo's hand rested on her tummy. Nel's humming grew louder and she began to bounce from her spot on Ichigo's knee.

"Mmm! Ithsygo! That'th yummy!"

Grimmjow was stunned. That was how he fed them? Nel obviously enjoyed it. "What was that?"

"Hm?" Ichigo's attention turned to him. "Oh, the ball you mean?"

Grimmjow simply nodded.

"I don't have a name for it or anything. My Inner Hollow pointed out that Hollows devour other Hollows not for their meat, but their reiatsu. I had the idea, then, that if the reiatsu is willingly given you don't have to hunt. Most people are too weak to feed others like this, which is probably why you've never seen it before. I can lose taicho levels of reiatsu several times a day without dying, so this is easy. It also helps me practice my control."

"How are ya this strong?" Grimmjow wondered aloud. "I remember beatin' the shit outta ya last time I saw ya." The last statement was made with a hint of pride.

"I completed Jinzen."

"Sword meditation?"

"Yeah, it's the method Shinigami use to communicate with their zanpakto. They place their zanpakto across their lap and enter their Inner World."

"Never heard of it. Pantera just starts going off in my head when he's got somethin' ta say."

"I know the feeling. Horimonogetsu does that a lot, Zangetsu doesn't say much."

Grimmjow's brows furrowed. "Horimonogetsu? Is that yer Inner Hollow's name?"

"Yeah. I learned it as a part of completing Jinzen. Because he and Zangetsu are both manifestations of my powers, to earn them I had to call them both by name. It's weird, ya know? I just…knew all of a sudden. With that done, for reasons I can't really explain myself, my powers exploded. Since then, he's a lot like I imagine an irritating brother would be like, and not some twisted psychopath attempting to murder me in my sleep. I just call him 'Horimono' for short."

'Oi! I take offense to that!'

'You take offense to everything I say about you that isn't a compliment.'

'Che. So? You're lowerin' my self-esteem.'

'…'

'…'

'…'

'Neither of us believes that, huh?'

'Hell no.'

'Damn.'

"Ichi-nii, are you gonna eat or can I take your portion?"

Ichigo spun to face Karin- his dark haired sister had eaten without waiting for them- who pointed to his bowl of Miso Soup he'd been ignoring. To his credit, he hadn't realized that they'd been served, noting that there were two extra bowls at the table.

"Go to bed." Ichigo deadpanned. "It isn't good to eat so much before you go to sleep. You'll have nightmares or unsettling dreams that make no sense."

Karin's dignified response was to stand, turn and give him a raspberry over her shoulder- a demonstration that conveyed how tired she was, to be acting so childishly. Never mind that he was right and she was already carrying her empty dishes to the kitchen. Yuzu, however, hadn't eaten yet.

"What's the matter, Imouto?" He asked concerned. Nel wriggled out of his arms and walked back to Grimmjow who picked her up, scowling now that he was the one being ignored.

"I…I was so scared, Onii-chan." Yuzu stared at the table, ashamed. "I know you're strong but when you didn't come to get us right away…I…"

Yuzu was so distraught she didn't notice Ichigo rise from his chair, his eyes soft and warm, and approach her until he was by her side. She jumped a little as Ichigo dragged her up and hugged her comfortingly against him. She acted without thinking and threw her arms around his waist, a sob trickling from her throat

"Yare, yare." Ichigo sighed. His hands rubbing up and down her back the way he always did when she was frightened.

"I know that wasn't very considerate, Yuzu. I'm sorry for making you worry."

Yuzu sniffed.

"But you understand why, yeah?"

She nodded into his t-shirt not trusting her voice.

"Hey." Ichigo said.

"Yuzu." He said more firmly. She loosened herself from her brother as he removed his arms from around her. His hands were no longer rubbing her back, but cupping the sides of her face and his thumbs wiping tears from her cheeks. His back curved outwards slightly as he bent so their faces were closer.

"Everything is alright. You're fine. Karin's fine. I'm fine. I promised remember?" Yuzu nodded once more. "Say it with me." He urged. "You're my imoutos…" He began.

"…and-and…"

"-as long as you're around…"

"…n….no matter what's decided to-to jump in your way, you'll…always come back home to us."

"That's right." Ichigo grinned. He treated her to an Eskimo kiss. Yuzu blushed, still a bit unused to Ichigo-nii-san's affection. Still, she returned to gesture with gusto. She really had the best big brother in the world.

Grimmjow and Nel watched the exchange from the doorway between the kitchen and the living room. Grimmjow felt odd seeing Kurosaki behave in such a manner. He was far too used the man glaring at him. Nel settled herself against his shoulder; not sleeping, just resting- she'd already seen Ichigo be nice to the other girls in the house and from past experience hadn't really expected much different. It just made her like him even more.

Karin, the black haired cub, strolled out of the kitchen with a smirk on her face. She tried to walk passed her siblings, but Kurosaki struck out an arm and caught her around her waist without looking. The brunette cub set about eating, a pleasant smile on her face as her brother tossed her twin over his shoulder and proceeded to carry her, presumably, to her room. Kurosaki ignored her protests and fighting to free herself from his hold. Half way up the stairs he suddenly turned and spoke to them.

"Grimmjow, I'll be down to feed you reiatsu in a minute."

The ex-Espada didn't bother saying anything, knowing it'd be lost as Kurosaki put one of his cubs to sleep. There was seriously something wrong with him. However, there was a more pressing matter: Grimmjow couldn't help but be curious about what human food tasted like. He sat down across from the little brunette and eyed it, almost expecting it to fight him or run from him as soon as he looked at it (all his other food did).

"What is it exactly?" He asked to no one in particular. Yuzu replied.

"Miso Soup, Grimmjow-san." He turned to her, quirking an eyebrow.

"Do ya know who I am?" Nel slipped down into his lap, beginning to eat the soup- they'd had something similar on the first night and he was just letting it go to waste.

"Yes, sir. Onii-tou-san told us all about you." Onii-tou-san? Did she really think so highly of him to consider him her father?

"Why aren't ya afraid of me?"

"Because you're his friend."

Grimmjow frowned. "Friend?"

"Yeah, you aren't that different from my other friends." Ichigo cut in as he reentered the living room.

"How do ya mean? Do ya always try to kill yer friends?"

"That seems to be a reoccurring theme." Ichigo sat down next to Yuzu and began to eat.

"What?"

"Well," Ichigo swallowed, "I wasn't legally a Shinigami daiko in the beginning. Soul Society considers it a crime to give a human Shinigami powers because the living shouldn't have the powers of the dead. My friend, Rukia- the one you impaled the first time we met-, came into our house chasing a Hollow and just so happened to enter my room. I thought she was a burglar at first. I kicked her in the head, and she cast a Kido bind on me. I broke it and went downstairs to try and save my sisters. Rukia got injured trying to protect me and she was forced to give me her powers or we would have all died." He stopped to take a bite, swallow and continued. "Soul Society's punishment for that is death." He took another mouthful.

"But ya didn't try ta kill her."

"She's the exception. I tried killing most of my Soul Society friends when Ishida, Orihime, Chad, Yoruichi and I invaded."

"Woah, woah." Grimmjow waved his hands in the air to emphasize his need for clarification. "Ya invaded Soul Society? With four other people? How did ya get out alive?"

"I didn't want Rukia to be executed for something we had no control over so we broke in. Hat-N-Clogs, an exiled Shinigami taicho, figured out how the Garganta works. He opened one under his shop- a little nickel-and-dime candy store-, and we came out in Soul Society. Breaking into the dimension turned out to be only one hurdle itself. The Seireitei has an additional barrier over it so Rukongai souls aren't affected by all the Shinigami reiatsu. Long story short, we broke in, fought loads of people and save Rukia. I fought a lot of grunt men, a giant named Jidanbou, eight or nine officers, fukutaicho* and taicho, as well as Aizen for the first time myself, over the course of the week our invasion took place. I'm friends with pretty much everyone I fought and defeated."

Grimmjow gave Ichigo an incredulous look. "Yer friends with them? Did ya get bonked on yer head when ya were a cub or somethin'?"

Ichigo huffed indignantly. "It's not my fault if people in Soul Society attack first and ask questions later. Besides, we inadvertently exposed Aizen's plan to activate the Hyogyoku and have helped them several times since. It'd be nice for them to return the favor, sure, but I've learned to take what I can get from them."

Ichigo paused to take a piece of tofu into his mouth, using his chopsticks to point at the bowl before Grimmjow. Seeing as his mouth was full, he made a sound to call attention to it and just what was happening to its contents.

"Huh?" Grimmjow looked down and saw the bowl almost empty. The interesting part was not the vanishing soup, but Nel. The small girl picked the bowl up and began to pour the broth into her mouth. Grimmjow felt a vein tick in his temple. Wasn't that his soup?

"Brat." He growled.

"Ung-m?" The grating little Hollow replied, swallowing.

"That was mine!"

Finished, Nel tilted her head back to look at him better. "Gwimm wathn't eating it."

"We were talkin'!"

"Nel can do both!"

"That's disgustin' and I've told ya not to."

"But-!"

"Nel." Both Arrancar turned to Ichigo. "What?"

"Listen to Grimmjow. It's not well-mannered to speak with food in your mouth and it's not polite to eat someone else's food. Stick to your own next time." Ichigo pointed to the smaller bowl to their right which was brimming with Miso Soup.

Both blinked in surprise; Grimmjow because Ichigo was taking his side and Nel because Ichigo had taken an authoritative tone. He hadn't sounded like that the last few days! This was taking into account that Nel didn't realize that Ichigo had been persuasive when telling her to do things rather than flat out ordering her.

"Ithsygo!" Nel complained.

"We have more than enough food, Nel. You should know better after spending the last few days with us. If you wanted to eat soup, you should have said something. You're in the human world now and no one is going to deny or take your food away from you unless you're in trouble."

"Gwimm wath-"

"No ice cream for two days."

"That'th not faiw!"

"Four days."

Nel pouted and crossed her arms. Ithsygo was being mean. "Hmph!"

"You need to go to bed too?" Ichigo warned.

"No!" Yes.

"Come on, Yuzu." He said. The older girl had finished her own meal and was quietly watching the exchange. Addressed, she stood and pushed her chair in. She made to retrieve the dishes but Ichigo waved her off.

"It's past midnight so I'll take care of this mess." He walked around to Grimmjow's side of the table and extended his arms to the Hollow child. She shook her head, miffed, but that didn't stop him from scooping her up and lugging her under one arm like he had in Hueco Mundo. Yuzu clutched his free hand and allowed him to guide her upstairs.

Grimmjow followed them, mostly because Nel had been unceremoniously yanked away from him and he didn't appreciate being ditched. Nel was squirming- kicking and trying to hit Ichigo, even going so far as to bite his forearm. He stilled at the painful dig of her blunt teeth into his flesh and Grimmjow tensed. Nel may have very well just pushed too far. He didn't mind that Ichigo had disciplined her, but in his experience if you brought Ichigo pain, he returned it ten-fold. Ichigo was always unpredictable and he could very well bring Nel pain or death with little to no effort.

"Nel." His voice was calm and unreadable yet sharp and curt. Grimmjow readied himself for a fight, a growl beginning to rise in his throat. He could see Ichigo lower his head and Nel shift as she looked at him and everything was silent. After a moment, Nel went completely limp and his growl died away.

"Sowwy, Ithsygo." Her own voice was pitiful and she hung her head in shame. Her Instincts had no doubt been put in their place.

Ichigo continued walking after that, silent as death incarnate. Yuzu pulled him into an open doorway where she let go of his hand,

"Goodnight, Onii-chan."

"Sweet dreams, Imouto." Ichigo ruffled her hair a little and smiled kindly. She moved into the room and shut the door gently.

Ichigo returned his attention to Nel and then moved down the hall to the farthest door from the entrance. He opened the brown door and disappeared inside. Grimmjow was tempted to follow but he stopped outside, giving them a moment for no reason he could immediately determine. He could hear words spoken between them- more apologies from Nel and shushing from Ichigo. The orange haired man reappeared with a sigh on his lips and a hand running through his bright hair. Grimmjow decided to break the silence before it became uncomfortable.

"She cryin'?"

"A little after she bit me. She's okay now. Aren't you hungry?"

"Instincts put the cub first, Kurosaki. Ya handled that well."

"This isn't my first rodeo."

"What's a roh-die-oh?"

"Nevermind. It's not my first time dealing with a small child."

"Aren't ya angry she did that?"

"No." Ichigo shook his head. "She was just cranky is all. A nap around midday usually takes care of the attitude with kids at her apparent age, but she refused to sleep until nighttime so she could watch you during the day."

'He didn't kill her! What a wonderful temperament~! You simply must mate with him.'

'Everythin' was goin' so well in my head.'

'Master-'

'Quiet or I'll come in there and make ya quiet!'

'…so unrelenting…'

"-you eat."

"What?"

"I said it's time that you eat. I said I would earlier, so let's do this before Horimono has an aneurism or something."

"Why's he buggin' ya about it?" Grimmjow had a feeling he was going to hate the number of human words he didn't understand.

"Instinct." An answer he could understand.

"Instinct."

Grimmjow remained where he was while Ichigo created the reiatsu ball and approached him. Next to him, Ichigo held a ball the three times the size of the one he'd fed Nel and it continued to grow larger. It stopped growing at roughly six feet in diameter, black and blue energy swirling and bursting forth to lick at the air. It was as though Ichigo held a black sun inches from his palm. Its size tested the hallway- which was spared by less than half a foot on each side. It cast a supernatural glow and shadows stretched out like the claws of monsters to feast on unsuspecting children. He watched in awe as it compressed to the size of a hand ball just like Nel's had, if a tad slower.

"Ready?" Ichigo inquired. "This might burn a little. Nel said it felt hot the first time and you've been unconscious all the other times I've fed you."

Bracing himself, he nodded. He wasn't sure of what to expect; he'd never consumed pure reiatsu before. He'd always had to tear into and digest the body parts of his meals to absorb it. Thus, it was always a slow process- if his prey was big enough; a single meal could take days or weeks (when he could find a good hiding place to stash it). However, this was going to be all at once and quite fast. Would it hurt?

Ichigo gently pushed the ball into his abdomen. The moment it touched him; he gasped, gooseflesh broke over his skin, every hair on his body stood on end, his hands trembled, his pupils shrank and eyes widened. The epicenter was pulsing and he would later realize that the reiatsu was pumping into him with each beat of his heart. He was pulling it in with each contraction and expansion; it was flowing into every vein and every nerve. The tips of his fingers and toes were ice-cold, but his palms and heels were warm and the heat increased up his arms and legs to his neck. There, his blood was glacial against his searing muscles. His Adam's Apple bobbed as he gulped for air, tilting his head back and his whole body shivering. He'd never felt so…so…

"That's…good, Kurosaki…"

…full. Had he moaned?

"I've been told." Ichigo said. "You alright?"

In what was no more than thirty seconds, Ichigo had pushed his reiatsu entirely into Grimmjow. His hand now rested on the blue-haired man's flat stomach and he could feel the tiny growing life inside. He knew that it would always leave him astounded. He would swear that he could feel actual happiness sent back to him through the connection. For such a miniscule little being to have emotions already… There were no words to describe it.

"Yeah." Grimmjow replied. He was a million times better than alright. He felt the cub stir in their shared delight. His tongue slipped from his mouth to lick his dry lips. Reiatsu so heavy and powerful like that…there was no doubting Pantera's claim now. He was confident that this man was stronger than El Primera had ever been or would be. The hunger was gone. The never ending drive to hunt Hollows and eat, eat, and eat. Just…dissipated. Even if it was only temporary to literally be whole. He grinned like a madman. He had never felt so good in his Hollow life. Drunk, he felt absolutely drunk.

Ichigo saw the shit eating grin split Grimmjow's face and grinned himself. The other man appeared to be appeased and he'd definitely enjoyed it- as one should any meal. However, Grimmjow was swaying on his feet and a moment later, he yawned exhausted.

'It has been a long day, I suppose.'

Ichigo took a step back to put some space between them and gestured to the still open door of Nel's room. "There's a bed for you inside."

"I ain't a cub, Kurosaki. I'll go ta sleep when I want ta."

"Just making sure you know." Ichigo then passed the Arrancar and headed downstairs to clean up. Grimmjow followed with serious look on his face to accompany his mindset.

Ichigo had just left the dirty dishes in the sink when he noticed something odd about Grimmjow. He was…fidgeting. Make that very, very odd.

"Is something the matter?"

Grimmjow just shook his head and jerked a thumb to the living room. He followed the other man as he sat on the "L" shaped couch and sat down next to him to remain at more-or-less-eye level. They sat in silence for a few minutes and then Grimmjow spoke.

"I'mma tell ya who the sire is."

Ichigo's eyes widened. "Grimmjow don't. I told you, you don't have to do it right now. It obviously makes you uncomfortable. I'll wait-"

"I say this now, or I'll never say it." Grimmjow hunched over, his elbows on his knees, his hands clasped loosely. "Ya said I get ta decide when and I pick today."

Ichigo prepared himself. He leaned forward and placed his hands on his thighs, gazing intently at Grimmjow. The ex-Sexta was staring hard at the coffee table as though it had wronged him.

"I didn't want it. The cub. After ya defeated me the first time, Aizen punished me like usual. But, it wasn't him that got me this way."

"Who?" Ichigo whispered. He needed a name if he was going to make them pay. The way Grimmjow spoke signified rape and enemy or not at the time, if Grimmjow had come to him back then he would have sought vengeance for him, especially if his victory resulted in the crime. He could already feel guilt welling up inside.

"Ichimaru." Grimmjow flinched. "He told me ta be a better minion or he'd…he wouldn't…stop."

Ichigo caught on immediately. His eyes widened in horror this time and his hands tightened on his legs.

"Grimmjow…I…"

"He put," He paused to swallow the sudden lump in his throat, "Shinso in my mouth." His voice reduced to a whimper. "Said he'd blow my head open and…brain fuck me." He took a shaky breath. "Then, he ripped my clothes off and…pulled it out…h-he took me…" Grimmjow couldn't continue. Tears were falling from his eyes and he was breathing too hard. His shoulders were shaking and his hands pulled at his hair.

Ichigo didn't need to hear more. He wrapped his arms around Grimmjow for the third time in twenty four hours. Much to his surprise, Grimmjow didn't fight him. He was pliant in Ichigo's embrace which allowed him to pull Grimmjow against his body as he laid them down on the couch. His back made contact with the material and Grimmjow was shaking on top of him. The blue-haired man curled his fists into Ichigo's shirt at one point and wept into his body, not that Ichigo would have objected. Grimmjow needed this: the release. He ran his left hand through Grimmjow's hair and had the other rub his back in soothing circles. His emotions were tumultuous at best, but most powerful among them was rage.

"How dare he?"

Grimmjow spared him a glance, acknowledging the angered tone but not saying anything. He probably couldn't speak too well anyway.

"If I hadn't killed him, I would kill him right here and now."

The statement caught Grimmjow by surprise. "What?" He asked his voice thick, raw and unrecognizable. "Ya killed him?"

Ichigo returned softly, making sure his body didn't convey his anger in a way that would allow Grimmjow to misconstrue it. "Before I killed Aizen, I had to kill him. He got in my way and wouldn't let me get close. I cut his arms off and then obliterated him with a Getsuga Tenshou. If I'd known what he did to you, I would have made him suffer."

"Why?" Grimmjow choked. "I was yer enemy."

"No one deserves that, Grimmjow. Don't tell me anymore unless you're up to it and you're not obligated to tell me. I know enough to answer the difficult questions."

"Ya'd still take it?" Grimmjow's haunted eyes widened impossibly more. It made the sympathetic part of Ichigo want to maim the culprit. Grimmjow was one of the strongest people he'd ever met; in mind, body and soul. Never in his life would he have ever expected to see him so lost.

"Yes." Ichigo said softly. Their eyes were locked again and he hoped it helped get his message across. "I'm not going to blame an innocent baby for crimes it hasn't committed."

Grimmjow gaped and gasped a little before burying his face into Ichigo chest and letting a relieved laugh escape him."Somehow I didn't think ya would. Ya really are too soft, Kurosaki."

Ichigo shifted to get comfortable on the couch. "I grew up human. I've heard I'm a bit of an asshole but I'm not the type of guy who judges people by the actions of others. They," Ichigo moved his hand from Grimmjow hair to between them, turning his palm up and touching the flat belly. Grimmjow lifted himself up a little to watch him, "will not be held accountable for Ichimaru atrocities. I won't let them become like him either."

"It could have his nature." Grimmjow muttered.

"We'll just have to nurture the hell out of this kid."

Grimmjow looked at him like he was insane. "What?"

"Humans wonder about the nature versus nurture argument all the time. In my experience, it's actually both. Some things can't be helped and others have to be taught. If we teach this kid how to be a decent, forthcoming person, their nature wouldn't be a problem. People change throughout their lives. I can't tell you why Ichimaru," Ichigo growled the name, "turned out the way he did. But this kid won't turn into him. Know why?"

Grimmjow slightly shook his head "no".

"Because this baby," Ichigo caressed the smooth Hierro, "is your baby too."

Grimmjow was in disbelief. "But Ichimaru-"

"Isn't the father."

Grimmjow snarled. "Ya son-of-a-bitch! I just told y-"

Ichigo stopped him by placing his right hand over his mouth. "You said he's the sire. The father is- if you leave him or her here- me."

Grimmjow's anger died like a wilted leaf and Ichigo's hand fell away. "Ya would truly raise this cub as if it was yer own?"

"I'm certainly not gonna let Soul Society have it. They'd kill it and come after you and Nel as well as my sisters and me if they ever found out. Or worse, that twisted bastard Kurotsuchi would keep it alive to experiment on and pick apart. Not only that but this kid will be invisible to the average population without a faux body and I have yet to find some. But the thing that'll get on Soul Society nerves the most is the fact that this baby is half Arrancar half Shinigami. You were an Espada and Ichimaru…was a taicho. They'll consider this baby a liability that must be disposed of and with the Soul King as my witness I will not let them hurt a hair on this kid's head."

"Kurosaki…"

"I've sworn to protect you, Nel and this baby. I'll protect them whether or not you stay. I'll protect you from Soul Society even if you leave. Being a father wasn't a turn I'd expected my life to make this early on, but I'd rather be a teenager raising four kids on my own than let any one of them be killed. I'm just that kind of person, Grimmjow."

"…" Grimmjow closed his eyes, a bittersweet smile curling his lips. "I guess."

Ichigo just hummed lightly and stretched his arms over them. He didn't feel like traversing up the stairs again and didn't want to disturb the man above him when they'd come to an understanding as they had. In time, he was certain that they could be good friends. Sparring partners- at the very least- should Grimmjow decide that raising his child wasn't something he wanted to do and it would give him an excuse to see his offspring from time to time. He leisurely relaxed his body and yawned.

Grimmjow for his part didn't want to move, but didn't feel comfortable on top of the Vaizard. The man beneath him was warm and while that was fine, falling asleep atop another person was improper. When he'd been a human, he'd learned that one did not lie next to another lest they were with kin, married or lovers. People had been much more conserved at the time- he knew that was centuries ago- but the old lessons still stuck. Ichigo didn't seem at all concerned and perhaps even content to remain where he was.

'I can't hold it any longer. Mate him. Want. We're already in the perfect position to give him the ride of his life, Mas-'

Internally, Grimmjow slammed a mental wall between himself and Pantera. He was at his wits end. 'Stupid zanpakto.' He could feel his cheeks suddenly burn crimson and scrambled to put as much space between himself and Ichigo as possible. He stood a little clumsily, and quickly made to the stairs.

"Grimmjow?" Ichigo's voice was concerned.

"I…ya said I got a bed in Nel's room right?" He replied, refusing to look back at the younger man.

"Yeah, if you don't mind sharing with her anyway." Ichigo said.

Grimmjow nodded and journeyed up to join the other Arrancar. Ichigo sighed and forced himself to get up. He returned to the second story himself and noted that the door to Nel and Grimmjow's room was closed. He entered his own room, shutting the door and redressed himself in his pajamas. He collapsed on his mattress, catching sight of the time on the alarm clock by the lamp on his desk.

1:47 a.m.

He knew sleeping was for naught. He'd learned too much and his thoughts were dark- full of blood, screams and unspeakable things. He decided to travel to his Inner World and think things out with Horimono and Zangetsu. That way his body would rest in meditation and he could get himself sorted straight. He closed his eyes and fell into a trance, his reiatsu disappearing from detectable levels.

He definitely wasn't going to school tomorrow.

End Chapter 4.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This one is mostly Grimmjow/Nel, father/daughter fluff with bits of Ichigo thrown in.

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach.

Grimmjow shifted on the bed, the blankets twisting around his legs as he stretched them. His eyes peeling open slowly, noting that the room was brightening as sunlight poured in through the window above them and Grimmjow groaned in frustration. He'd never gotten used to the artificial sun of Las Noches and doubted he'd ever grow accustomed to the real thing. Raising his left arm, he dragged the blankets higher, curled his knees up and replacing his arms protectively about his little charge, and bent his head down to avoid the star's gleaming rays. Nel wiggled, making an unhappy sound at being moved, before settling once more.

Grimmjow watched as she dozed off, mind wondering to the previous night. Ichigo hadn't reacted at all like he'd expected. Talking about it, no matter how briefly… His pride had taken a mighty beating when he'd broken down, crying like a little bitch and clinging to Ichigo like he didn't know what else to do. Ichigo had…had…comforted him. He didn't judge him, probably didn't even hate him even after all the misery he'd caused him and his friends. Ichigo felt anger on his behalf rather than against him and most importantly- he'd killed Ichimaru. His tormentor was dead. He felt immense relief knowing that. And yet he was still troubled. What would the child look like? Part of him wanted to know and another wanted to do away with it. It wasn't as though he hated the budding life inside him, it had never intended to do him wrong, but he didn't think he could stand it if the child turned out to be a replica of Ichimaru…

Long and thin, spidery fingers holding his remaining wrist against the floor; skinny, lanky body rutting and forcing that thing inside him; pale eyes open and watching, mouth curved into his trademark fox-grin as he relished Grimmjow's whimpers of pain around Shinso's blade as it dug into the roof of his mouth, the infected translucent green dripping through the bandages on the stump of his left arm and the blood seeping down his throat and from his nether regions…

"Oh, Grimmy~chan. couldn't ya wait 'til we won the war to fuck up?"

Grimmjow shuddered, the burn of salt water stinging his eyes for a moment before he blinked it away, taking deep slow breaths. It wouldn't do any good to keep reliving that ordeal. It was gone and past now; the only thing to left to do was to move forward. He'd spend the remainder of his pregnancy in the World of the Living, then leave the cubs with Ichigo and return to Hueco Mundo. Nel and Ichigo might not like it, but it was his decision. He was better off there anyway. The World of the Living was too just too strange now. Hueco Mundo stayed the same; century after century, for millennia, but the Human world was an ever-changing entity. Every few decades they made changes to their technology, their populations exploded, their cities grew larger – it unsettled him. He'd spent so long in the Hollow dimension; he had grown used the simplicity of his afterlife there. Wonder the desert, find prey, kill said prey, eat it, avoid stronger Hollows, and evolve. That was it. Grimmjow thrived at it. He was so close to becoming a Vasto Lorde- within the next half a century for certain. Vasto Lorde had no natural threats except more highly evolved Vasto Lorde. He'd just have to find away to get those god forsaken scientists out of Las Noches. If there was one thing he'd learned from Aizen, it was that a king should have a palace.

Setting that as his first task once he kitted, Grimmjow sighed, defeated, and threw the blankets to the far side of the bed. Damn sun. It had risen to the point where even the covers couldn't keep the brightness at bay any longer. He straightened out, rolling onto his back, stretching one final time. Sitting up slowly, he picked up Nel- careful not to wake her, and rose off the mattress. Their room was much smaller than his quarters in Las Noches had been, but it was sufficient. Aside from the bed, there was a desk and chair, a nightstand, a lamp and a small closet. He still wore the clothing Ichigo had given him the previous night- such things were of little concern to Hollows. If he'd become a humanoid without Aizen's intervention, he doubted he would have worn much more than necessary to conceal his private areas. Still, he couldn't complain. They were being provided with food, shelter and protection while having nothing to give in return and it wasn't like he was uncomfortable. Lifting Nel up so her cheek rested against his shoulder and she could breathe better, he exited the room. No one was in the hallway, but he could hear voices from downstairs and his nose picked up an unusual scent which made his mouth water. Curiosity leading him now, he made the trip to the house's lower level. His sharp hearing could detect the Kurosaki siblings' voices easily.

As he made the bend, he could see Ichigo's sisters, already leaving the table. They appeared to have finished their morning meal and were slinging bags across their backs. They were headed out the door when he and his cargo reached to the first floor.

"We're heading out now! Bye Ichi-nii!"

"See you later, Onii-chan!"

The front door shut firmly behind them before their brother could answer. Said orange-headed male appearing in the kitchen doorway a moment later, wearing an apron over a grey muscle shirt and white sweatpants. He immediately caught sight of the Arrancar and after an awkward moment, waved, mouthing "Yo."

Grimmjow simply nodded in acknowledgement and at Ichigo's motioning, took a place at the table. Nel sleepily murmured, awoken by the twins' departure and tried burrowing herself into his neck. Failing, he wordlessly set her in his lap, as she yawned and smacked his growing belly weakly with a tiny hand, grumpy. His attention was pulled from his insolent cub by Ichigo bringing a plate of what he presumed was breakfast. Ichigo was quick to disappear in to the kitchen once more and return with two more plates, identical to his own, one being significantly smaller, to the table. A third trip brought a clear container filled with white liquid, glasses, and another oddly shaped jar with a dark brown substance inside. Whatever it was, it made his mouth water. Ichigo tossed the apron over an empty chair and took a seat across from him. After briefly explaining what everything was (pancakes, sausage, eggs, hash browns) they started to eat. He decided that he liked these 'hash browns' and the sausage things. Nel, more alert by the second now, grabbed two little meat rolls- from her own plate this time- with her bare hands and munched on them greedily.

Breakfast was a quiet, simple affair. By the end, Nel's face was covered in sticky syrup and crumbs and the child really didn't seem to give half a damn, reclining against Grimmjow, lazily licking her dirty fingers. Grimmjow ignored her for the time being, and instead, silently requested seconds by lifting his plate into the air by Ichigo's face, his expression incredulous. As if so little could fill his rumbling stomach! Lack of said stomach, and his own knowledge about having one notwithstanding, he would tear through a helping of thirds, and fourths and fifths by the time Ichigo had finished his second.

Ichigo watched his new almost-friend for any signs of pain or discomfort he might have missed the night before. The former Espada showed no indication that he wanted to talk and after the previous night Ichigo knew when to leave well enough alone. Nel was her usual self; stuffing herself with no regard for utensils, but at least she remembered what happened when she stole food. There was always time to teach her basic things like that later. He was surprised by Grimmjow's appetite considering that he must have never had human food before but he wasn't complaining- the blue-haired man was eating for two after all. That thought brought up a lot of things. First, how would acquiring a gigai work? He doubted that Urahara had any experience creating one for an expecting spirit. Separated gigais? Or wait until after the birth to provide for infant and…uh… 'mother'? Would he need prenatal vitamins? When would he start to show? Would he have mood swings? And if so, would they be violent mood swings? Was there a different term for a man who gave birth or was it considered a unisex word to Hollows? It just felt wrong, thinking of Grimmjow being called…"Mommy" by a child.

'Ya never listen!' Horimono griped. Ichigo got the mental impression of someone tossing their hands into the air, exasperated.

'I'm offended. I'm always listening to you… against my will, but still, I'm listening.'

'Bitch.'

'Poltergeist.'

'Pussy.'

'Incestuous clone.'

Horimono gasped. 'I-piece of shit-YOU!' His cheeks suddenly afire.

'Why'd you have to go exploring your body? Couldn't you just wait until I had a wet dream or something? Why'd you suddenly decide to jerk off while I was at school?' Ichigo sent the feeling of somebody's-face-is-too-close-to-my-face to his Inner Hollow.

'T-that was-'

'You were picturing me.'

'We have the same body!'

'Uh-huh. So why was I-'

'Shut up! Z-zang-getsu was saying thin's a-and-'

'I would never have such inappropriate thoughts nor instigate any action of the sort. Ichigo-'

'Don't worry, Zangetsu. It's fine. I have absolute faith in you, you know that by now. He's just going through puberty, right?'

'Hm.'

'… I hate you.'

'That isn't what you were screa-'

'I SAID I WAS SORRY. DROP. IT.'

Ichigo silently assured his Inner Hollow that he would in fact drop it. He found that particular event immensely amusing, though. He hadn't been much better when he'd hit puberty at twelve but, he had Yuzu and Karin around to stifle his little inappropriate urges. Horimono had no such buffer with the war over and Ichigo's soul at peace. All three parts of Ichigo's soul shared his memories- that was guaranteed after completing Jinzen. However, unlike Zangetsu, Horimono didn't get to experience as much with Ichigo as the zanpakto. Zangetsu had always been there, dormant perhaps, yet ever present- Ichigo's conscience. Then, once Ichigo became a shinigami daiko Zangetsu was a conscious presence and because of Ichigo massive reiatsu, Zangetsu was an 'always-released-type' zanpakto. Constantly being in shikai meant that Zangetsu saw things as Ichigo saw them, all the time, unlike other zanpakto, who only got to see the world on the odd occasion they were released. Zangetsu was probably wiser than most other zanpakto based solely on the fact that he had more knowledge about the material world and human issues. In contrast, Horimono had arisen from the dark, hurting part of Ichigo's soul which had began to wither and shrivel with Masaki's death and grown, as people judged him, fought him, misunderstood him all the time. There was so little good for Horimono to fall back on, in the beginning. Now, they shared all their memories so he had good times to reflect on, enjoy, too. Since his awakening, Horimono saw things like Zangetsu saw them through Ichigo, but he didn't have to if he didn't want to and he wasn't particularly fond of school. Ichigo's job was only mildly interesting. The only real time he paid attention to the outside world was when Shinigami or Hollows were around- chances were that there'd be a good fight to watch, or Ichigo was out and about with Karin and Yuzu ('Cuz there's two o' them and one o' you, and everybody in this family is a magnet for trouble. Besides I like them more than you.). But puberty wasn't something Ichigo had expected any part of himself to go through again. Horimono, it seemed, had become the equivalent to an Arrancar within his soul. And that, apparently, meant that he had to go through "pubescence" of a sort, to reach "adulthood." It was quite funny. A bit weird. Way funny. He took pity the Hollow part of his soul and returned the conversation to the original idea.

'Anyway, something about not listening?'

'Che. I told you yesterday. If he's "mommy" then it's "papa". Common sense, dumbshit.'

'Mm. Ah, that's right! Sorry, it slipped my mind.' Ichigo was met with indignant huffing and felt Horimono withdraw. He was probably off to nurse his wounded pride. Focusing on the world beyond himself, his eyes caught an odd little scene. He had to get a handle on the drifting-to-sideways-lala-land thing.

Grimmjow had liked his meal so much that he'd licked his plate clean and now, he was licking Nel. She was held high on his chest with both arms wrapped securely around her, while Grimmjow craned his neck to extend his tongue out and lap at her chubby face. His tongue ran over her lips, nose, cheeks, and chin and only diverted to lick a small hand. Ichigo could hear the rasp of a sand paper-like tongue swiping away and much to his surprise Nel appeared rather bored with the whole thing. Was this regular Hollow behavior?

"Uh… Grimmjow?"

"Huh?" Was the reply. Blue eyes travelled up to him, meeting his gaze curiously. "What?"

"What exactly are you doing?" Ichigo asked, tilting his head. The look Grimmjow sent back was scrutinizing.

"Givin' my cub a bath." Grimmjow replied. "Don't you make sure yer cubs are clean?"

Ichigo blinked. "I believe in baths, just not tongue baths. Humans don't lick their kids clean."

It was Grimmjow's turn to blink. "How do ya clean 'em then?" His attention was diverted to Nel when he saw her shaking her head rapidly. She raised her arms into an 'x' over her chest and was staring at Ichigo with big pleading doe eyes. Intrigued, Grimmjow turned to the Vaizard and raised a questioning brow.

Ichigo, too, noticed the little one's actions and a teasing, knowing grin pulled at his lips. He stood, his chair scraping the tile floor, and began the trek upstairs, motioning for Grimmjow to follow. "Let me show you."

Grimmjow followed Ichigo, despite Nel's squirming, the bathroom. Once inside, Ichigo shut the door and sat himself down on the rim of the long white tub. His hands worked the knobs until, much to Grimmjow's surprise; water came spewing out of the short nozzle beneath them. He edged closer, sniffing the air questioningly, and stopped beside the younger man, hunched over to better observe the strange phenomenon; he'd seen this before, but it was still fascinating. After a few seconds, Ichigo moved the knobs again and the torrent of water abruptly stopped.

"Nel doeth'nt wanna get wet!" The small Arrancar cried. She'd given up trying to fight her way out and instead clutched at Grimmjow's arms as tightly as her tiny limbs allowed.

Ichigo just sighed, shaking his head.

Grimmjow gave Nel an astonished look. "Why?" Didn't the child know the wonders of water? He knew the difference between bathing to clean oneself, and bathing to relax- had he known that this room existed inside the house, he would've brought Nel up here to clean her messy self. 'They didn't have washrooms inside the house when I died.' He noted.

"Becauthe Nel get dwippy an' hew haiw get'th th'ticky undew hew mathk an' Nel thwipth on the floow an' Nel can't thwim an'-" Nel's voice quickly got very high pitched, her eyes shut tight, nearly screaming at the top of her lungs, and her little palms got clammy. Grimmjow's paternal instincts didn't much appreciate the cub he cared for being in distress. Slowly, he lowered her a bit on his chest and eased into a deep rumbling purr. She almost immediately stopped, steadily going limp against him, her racing heart calming as the soothing vibration tickled her bones and the sound hushed her wailing. Her grip loosened on her caretaker and she used her hands' placement to push back into the relaxing rhythm.

Ichigo watched, not for the last time he was sure, as Grimmjow and Nel pretty much disappeared into their own world. Grimmjow really thought that he wasn't going to be a good parent? Really? Ichigo, while experienced with little girls and the tantrums they could throw, hadn't been able to calm Nel so quickly even once, despite his best efforts. He supposed that Grimmjow's insecurity came from being a Hollow, living in Hueco Mundo and his rather violent, short temper. A year ago, if someone had told Ichigo that he'd see Grimmjow playing 'daddy' to a little girl; he would have dropped to the ground laughing at the absurdity of it. So, the very degree of affection he had for Nel- because it the warmest expression on the man's face Ichigo had ever seen- was unbelievable.

Grimmjow turned away from Nel for a moment, and quietly told Ichigo to turn the water back on. A bit unsure, Ichigo hesitated for a moment but went along with the request anyway, curious. 'What's he planning?'

Unlike before, the flow was much gentler now and Nel didn't startle. Ichigo moved away from the facet to make room for Grimmjow on the rim of the bathtub. The blue-haired male sat, one arm securely around Nel, while the other reached out and experimentally tested the water. It was warm. Slowly, making certain that Nel saw his hand; he pulled it close to her and let her investigate for herself. One of her tiny hands tentatively reached out and touched his wet palm, quickly jerking away and reaching out again to repeat the action, and finally, to grip a dripping wet finger. She craned her head back, eyebrows furrowed, searching for approval. Grimmjow's purr- too soft to hear but strong enough for her to feel- rose in strength just slightly. Allowing Grimmjow to pull his hand away and beneath the flow of liquid once more, Nel's eyes were wide with awe as he twisted and turned his fingers in the water, before forming a small cup. This time, he stopped his hand above her head and abruptly released the water. Surprised, Nel blinked as droplets rained over her eyes and cool trails raced down her scalp. Seeing her flinch, Grimmjow guided her little hands to her head- the parts she could touch, what with her mask in the way- and spoke softly, "Water ain't gonna hurt ya."

"B-b-but…!" Nel stuttered, even as her little fingers explored the foreign moisture upon her person.

"It doesn't hurt now, does it?"

"N-no but-"

"But what?"

"It…it'th scawy, Gwimm!"

Displaying more patience than Ichigo thought possible, Grimmjow waited for Nel to explain her fear of water. Nel struggled to find the right words, and then she came close to crying- to her credit she fought through it- and appeared to start some impromptu charades. Eventually, Nel just shook her head, pointed at Ichigo and turned into Grimmjow's body, hiding her face in his clothes. Turning to the younger man, Grimmjow opened his mouth but Ichigo cut him off, already knowing the question.

"There was an incident with the washing machine the other day."

"Washing…machine?" Grimmjow repeated, his eyebrows furrowing.

"A machine we use to wash our clothes." Ichigo explained, standing. "Since we're gonna be here all day, I might as well show you so you know what everything is." Mimicking the Vaizard's example, Grimmjow stood and moved into the hallway, waiting for Ichigo, who had to turn off the bathtub facet. The Arrancar would follow Ichigo down to the 'living room'- Why was it called that?-, through the kitchen and back into the garage. In the far corner, were two, nearly identical boxes. Machines. Whatever. Nel, at the sight of them, clung tighter to Grimmjow and glared at the machine with the lid at the top open. The other was similar- the only difference he could see was the positioning of the openings. Ichigo gestured to the target of Nel's glower and explained. "This is a washing machine."

"And the other one? It washes stuff too?"

"No. That's the dryer."

Putting aside the curiosity related to the 'dryer' he asked, "What happened with this one then?" Grimmjow nodded at the designated 'washer.'

Ichigo crossed his arms and sighed. "Nel fell in while it was running."

"Runnin'?" Grimmjow took a step back, expression incredulous. "This thing runs? Like a row-bot?"

"What?" Ichigo blinked. "No, no. That's not what 'running' means in this context. It was…" He searched for a description which wouldn't confuse his former rival more. "…performing its' intended task. To wash clothes." Grimmjow stepped closer to see inside and Ichigo continued talking. "You fill the basin with the stuff you want to wash; usually clothes, sometimes blankets. Add soap and close the top. You pick settings telling the machine what kind of material is inside, cotton for example, and whether it's 'colors' or 'whites'. Then it fills with water and does the rest."

Simple enough. "How'd it make Nel afraid of water?" Grimmjow straightened, noting Nel's growing discomfort, subconsciously beginning to rub her back.

"Yuzu had it open and was double checking the rooms for any clothes she might have missed, before starting the wash. Nel hopped in and the lid accidentally shut on her. The center piece right here spins, pushing the clothes and water around so they mix. She wasn't in there for long, though, so don't freak out or anything." Ichigo hastily finished as Grimmjow began to growl at the Maytag. "We heard her screaming and pulled her out. She was scared and tried running to you in the Clinic, but she slipped and fell. She let us dry her off and spent the rest of the day with you. We tried giving her a bath that night to get the soap off, but she wasn't having it."

Thoroughly upset by the memory, Nel blew a very insulting raspberry at the appliances before bravely retreating into Grimmjow's t-shirt once more, sniffling. Understanding the situation now, Grimmjow spent a moment in deep thought, then asked, "That tub upstairs is supposed ta fill with water, right?"

"Yeah. Have you ever even seen a modern bathroom before today?"

"Aizen had a toy bucket in everyone's quarters but none of us ever used it. We'd go to the Sento when we wanted to clean ourselves. We didn't have our own little washrooms."

'Toy buckets? '"The toilet?"

"Those things. We don't make shit like humans, even if we happen to eat solid food. We can't afford ta let any meal go ta waste. It doesn't give us reiatsu unless we just killed it though. It's like…like placebos? I'm sure that's what they're called. I ain't had human food since the day I died, I think. Anyway, I need to borrow that room."

Ichigo's head quirked to the side. "Um, sure, okay. Do you need me to show you how everything works?"

Grimmjow shook his head, no. "I saw ya do it. I'll remember." With that, the blue-haired man turned and headed inside.

Ichigo called after him, "There are towels under the bathroom sink and the rest of your clothes are at the base of the stairs. If you need something, I'll be in the living room."

Ichigo sighed, once both of his guests were out of ear shot. "Well, so much for explaining everything."

Running a hand through his hair, he returned to the kitchen. Unsure of what he should do while waiting for Grimmjow to…do whatever he was going to do with Nel, he ultimately decided to go through his Kidó texts- from Tessai- despite Horimono's protests that there were more important things to think about.

He walked to the book shelf in the living room and grabbed the volume labeled, courtesy of Urahara, "Demon Arts for the Dimwitted." He'd given the shopkeeper a good punch to the head for that one. Nonetheless, it was very well-detailed and actually worth time and effort. Settling himself on the remains of the recliner, he flipped open to the last marked page, 289, and started reading.

Most Kido didn't come naturally. It was one of his least favorite things to do, in fact. His sheer reiatsu levels made control so goddamned difficult to perform even the simplest of spells, but during the war Tessai had insisted that Ichigo learn some basic Shinigami practices. Not all battles could be won through pure strength of will and reiatsu, after all. Much to everyone's surprise, the Kidó he showed most proficiency in were Bakudō. He couldn't pull off a Hadō #31Shakkahō without it blowing up in his face, but he could cast Bakudō # 81Dankū almost as easily as using Getsuga Tenshou.

Tessai theorized that Zangetsu's shikai form was really a bluff. More than one person- Byakuya, Renji, Ikkaku, Kenpachi- might say that Ichigo was a berserker. His zanpakto was a cleaver, whose total length matched his height with no tsuba, and he had insane reiatsu levels for one so young. They would be wrong. The zanpakto is a reflection of its' master. Ichigo considers himself, in a sense, a shield. His blade was no tsuba because he doesn't care about what injuries befall him, so long as those he seeks to protect are safe. Behind him.

Zangetsu could actually be wielded as a shield thanks to his size, and with Deadly Darts, Ichigo didn't have to always resort to melee combat in every battle. Ichigo's temporary fullbring powers had affected his zanpakto in ways that helped him. With an actual hilt, his grip was better, stronger, and the slight change in shape of the blade reduced drag and friction with each swing. If Zangetsu were meant solely for close combat, his blade would be shorter for better maneuverability in tight spaces, thinner, but that would limit Ichigo's ability to protect others and Zangetsu's ability to protect Ichigo. That is impractical. Zangetsu does not do impractical.

The barriers around, in and on the Kurosaki Clinic had been set by Ichigo- with some help from Tessai and Hachi, after eighteen months of training. The uniqueness of the reiatsu of those living within required the invention of completely new spells to properly mask. The first Bakudo was a barrier which acted like a screen. You might feel the reiatsu inside, but you wouldn't be able to define what or who it came from. You would only know that reiatsu was there and that it was powerful. So powerful, Hollows avoided the Clinic like the plague. The ones in the house, completely hid reiatsu. He had one in his closet, in the garage, and the bathroom. They weren't always up, unlike the barrier around the entirety of the house. They would activate by drawing a symbol the size of one's fist, in blood, on the floor. A pin prick on the finger would generate enough blood and the symbol was easy enough to remember: the swastika of Zangetsu's hilt while in Bankai. A little odd in design but it was all he'd been able to think of at the time, and as Urahara pointed out, if someone who didn't know what his Bankai looked like attempted to use the wards, they would fail and be found. Not that he'd let a stranger get that far.

Several minutes went by and realizing he just looking at the words and not really absorbing the material, he put it down and gave up trying to distract himself. Taking a slow breath to remain calm, he drew up the memory from five nights ago. Some things…some things just couldn't be unseen.

Waving to show that he'd heard, Grimmjow mentally noted the clear bags by the stairs for later and instead made a beeline for the restroom. Once inside, he pried Nel off his body and had her sit on the toilet lid. Crouching, he opened the small doors and found the mentioned towels. Pulling out two and hanging them on one of the bars on the wall, he walked to the bathtub and finding a rubber stopper on the edge nearest the wall, placed it properly over the drain. He then pulled and rolled the knobs until warm water poured out, beginning to fill the tub. Turning to face Nel, his voice was strong, "Yer getting in."

Nel scowled, "Gwimm-"

"Shut it." Grimmjow was not about to have a cowardly child on his hands. Rambunctious, fine. Grimmjow could handle rambunctious. A fear of water was plain cowardice of the unknown. It was unheard of in Hueco Mundo, water. It never rained. There were no rivers or lakes or streams. Unfamiliarity with the element wasn't uncommon but he didn't much care. He did not do well with cowards, large or small, grown or cub. He was not going to have it. Period.

"Hmmmm~ph!" She pouted. Nel knew she wasn't going to win. She could be stubborn, but Grimmjow would outlast her any day. And if she gave him too much lip, he wasn't beyond corporal punishment, as she'd learned a time or two in the last month. She didn't like having a sore bottom.

Certain that Nel wasn't going to argue, Grimmjow pulled his clothes off. The only thing he left on was the underwear, and then he helped Nel out of her raggedy dress. She had on underwear of her own, pink bottoms, and those too were left on. Picking her up once more, he pushed the knob to halt the flow and stepped inside.

Hollows typically knew about water as an exclusive-to-the-World-of-the-Living commodity. It didn't mean they couldn't enjoy it. Grimmjow might never say it, but he really liked water. Swimming came naturally, and there was just something about being submerged that rubbed him in all the right places. Staying in the Living World for long wasn't much of an option, unfortunately. Shinigami always ended up coming around and ruining his fun. One of the best things about Las Noches was, in fact, the (public) bathroom. When he wasn't on some mission for Aizen, he was prone to long showers or baths in the huge Sento at the center of Las Noches.

The desert sand had never been very appealing, anyway. The granules got into fur, under claws, in the creases of bone armor- it was a downright pain. He particularly enjoyed the humidity created by hot water. But, right now, the bath wasn't for him.

Nel was unmoving. Her eyes wide and little form tense as she grew closer to the clear liquid. By the time he sat in the water, she was hardly breathing. Nearing the end of his patience, he suddenly pulled her away from his body, at arm's length, and promptly released. With a squeal and a 'sploosh' Nel hit the water like a stone. Terrified, she was instantly clawing and flailing and scrambling her way to him.

However it may have looked, he had no intention of letting her drown. As she fought the water, his hands itched to scoop her out and it took a lot more will power than he expected to keep from doing so. Instead, he forced himself to stay still, albeit his hands were ready to catch her should she fail.

She managed to keep her head above the water and while struggling for longer that he'd have wished, she finally reached him. She was soaked and trembling, and he smelled, more than saw, her crying. A tad guilty- he was getting weak damn it- he pulled her out and up to his chest. He started purring when her sniffles turned into full on sobs but it took much longer for her to calm this time- for the sense of betrayal to fade away. It was for her own good- a panther's cub should know how to swim.

Finally, she was silent. Slowly, he began to recline. Nel didn't react as her feet disappeared into the water aside from digging her fingers into him. Gently, without realizing it at first, he pushed her up by her bottom and her arms wrapped around his neck to the best of their ability. He didn't know how long they remained in the water, but his hands were pruny and the water was lukewarm when Nel stirred and sat up. Drowsy, his eyes were half open and he moved a hand over her head, rubbing her mask, for once, her expression was blank. Grimmjow wasn't the least surprised when she snatched his middle finger and bit down hard. Her teeth may never be especially sharp, but they were strong and fueled by disgruntlement more often than not. It wouldn't be long before she was capable of breaking through his Hierro.

"You done?" His finger emerged from her mouth, wet with drool and two pale crescent moon shaped red marks.

He was met by a powerful raspberry, crossing little arms and pouting. "…Nel thill doethn't like watew."

"I don't care. Ah," He cut her off before she could protest, "Yer learnin' how ta swim."

"B-but-!"

"But nothin', Brat." With a hand on her belly, soft and a bit pudgy- Pantera was quite pleased with that fact- he pushed her backwards. This time she wasn't startled, more along the lines of apprehensive. She grabbed his wrist and extended her legs behind her and much to her own surprise, her face said it all, her toes touched the bottom of the porcelain tub. Her head was still above water and she was definitely frightened, but like he expected, the fear didn't last. She released his arm and started moving around, using one of his legs at any given time as a rail while she circled the bathtub. When she made it back to him, he initiated play. Because he was bored. Yes. Bored.

He lightly splashed her in the face and was amused by her indignant cry. "Gwimm! Don't do that! Nel doethn't like watew!"

"So?" He antagonized. "I said I don't care."

She retaliated with both hands, failed and tried again with one. Succeeding, she giggled and began smacking the water excitedly. Very pleased now, Pantera pestered him into playing with more fevor, and for once, he didn't argue with his zanpakto. Chances to relax like this, were far and few in between. He had two cubs to look out for, no mate or fraccion to have his back, was wanted by Shinigami... this was…nice. Watching the little girl smile at him, laugh so sweet- it made a distant part of him ache.

'…I'm pretty sure I had a couple o' brats then…'

'Did I?' He thought faintly, splashing at her with a little more enthusiasm.

'It's in the past, Master. We have new cubs to look after. We are safe; no one will find us here, we will not be hunted, food is abundant. There are more important things to think about.'

Grimmjow wasn't so distracted by playing that he didn't catch on. Pantera was subtle. To himself he thought, 'What are you hiding about back then?' Nevertheless, he let it slide. It was true; he definitely had other things to worry about, Nel and his unborn cub being at the top of the list. How to repay Ichigo, too. What could he give? What would Ichigo take? Grimmjow didn't appreciate being thought of as a freeloader. But what could he barter? There must be something.

Nel broke him out of his thoughts with a smack of cooling water to the eye and an annoyed, "Hey!" He was so off his game a child could catch on? So not gonna fly.

The rest of the day went by in a similar fashion. He and Nel played in the bathroom, alternating between baths and showers, play and lessons. By the time they exited, Nel was sleeping in his arms, exhausted and he found himself wishing to join her. Rather than going down stairs and uncaring about how early it probably was- the sun was still setting- he decided to simply go to sleep. He and the developing little one were still digesting Ichigo's reiatsu ball from the night before, and presumed that Nel must be as well. It may have been inconsiderate to use so much water and not even come down to say 'goodnight' or something, but Grimmjow's instincts just wanted him to curl up around his cubs in the warmth of their bed. So that's what he did, having the presence of mind to at least dress Nel in a tiny nightdress he found in the closet and throw on a clean pair of "BOXERS" the bag said.

'Ichigo must o' brought 'em up.'

Drifting off, he sighed, a little content with that thought. They weren't really friends, but they certainly weren't enemies anymore. Ichigo had protected him for less, back in Hueco Mundo. Too damn protective he was. Still, it was that trait which led to the haven they resided in now.

"I've sworn to protect you, Nel and this baby. I'll protect them whether or not you stay. I'll protect you from Soul Society even if you leave. Being a father wasn't a turn I'd expected my life to make this early on, but I'd rather be a teenager raising four kids on my own than let any one of them be killed. I'm just that kind of person, Grimmjow."

At the very, bare bone least, there was the orange haired idiot. There was Ichigo.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ichigo's Having a Crisis So Could You Be Cool About It

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach.

Among other things, Ichigo has learned that life has a propensity to deposit poorly hidden visual metaphors before those who procrastinate very-important-and-necessary conversations, even if it's a matter of uncertain reluctance rather than legitimate lack of acknowledgement. And like his own life experiences have shown, hesitance is not an acceptable course of action for extended periods of time lest he be beaten to near death with the result of it.

"Shit!"

And despite being stronger than most of Soul Society, being kicked in the shin still hurts like a motherfucker.

"Kurosaki," Rizubet-san calls from above, "you've been down there half an hour and I don't hear so much as you pretendin' ta actually work."

Ichigo resists the sudden urge to childishly retaliate. "I-…"

"Git up here and look at me when yer talkin', kid." The metal-on-metal sound of her wrench banging on the hood above him punctuates his situation better than he wants to admit. His grip tightens momentarily on the edge of his open toolbox (when did he open that?) before he propels himself out from under the vehicle. He blinks at the sudden light of the workshop as the skateboard he's on catches a pebble slightly and the wheels makes a soft sound in protest. As if it had any idea about his problems.

Rizubet-san is standing to his left, wearing the same jumpsuit as he is only, hers is zipped all the way up and she has a candy bar in her tool belt. Making eye contact, she must see the honesty in the grimace on his face because she turns without a word, motioning loosely with her wrench for him to follow.

She leads him to her office, makes a point to hold the door open for him and shuts it with the kind of finality a mouse-trap does having caught its prey. She pushes him onto the couch by the window, sitting herself across from him. Her wrench slides onto the small coffee table between them. "First," she breaks the silence in a kind voice that immediate calms him a fraction of a pathetically dismal percentage, although that's almost entirely his own fault and not due to any deception on her part, "you're not in trouble."

He breathes in, slow, because he is not an idiot even though that's how he feels right now. "With me, that is."

Ichigo sighs audibly and runs his hands through his hair because here it is. Of course.

"Second, you're going to be real thorough and honest with me about wha's eatin' you." She waves her hands in the air as though he intends to interrupt, which he doesn't despite the fleeting thought. "I know it ain't money, I helped you with that mock-American tax form assignment of yours after all, and I know it ain't the car, and I know it ain't the girls, so spill it, boy. You look like you've stopped, and the world just kept on goin' round and round without ya."

His mouth opens and closes, but what can he say? His mortal business isn't the problem, as she so eloquently pointed out, and he can't just verbally vomit on about the woes of being abandoned by one spiritual realm, locked out of another by the first for unacceptable reasons, and trying to bring up the mutilation he's seen a new housemate's body without soliciting a negative reaction from an already skittish said housemate. The whole thing has eaten at him for weeks, but he can't keep putting it off. Grimmjow's wounds had looked unhealthy. He could admit that much. And he had been sneaking crushed anti-biotics into the human food he consumed from day one, but that couldn't possibly be enough, could it? To top it off, Grimmjow likely wouldn't allow him to get another look at it while conscious given where it all was, so there was no way for Ichigo to tell if the medicine was working.

All in all, he was royally fucked. He just couldn't win, this was a lose-lose situation no matter how he looked at it. He wished he hadn't promised Grimmjow that he wouldn't ask about it, particularly how because the former Sexta needed treatment and soon, or it would just get worse. What if Grimmjow died from infection? Or the infection spread? Could Hollows die from natural causes? Uruhara wasn't back yet, Isshin wasn't back yet, and they were the only two with enough healing kido, and medical knowledge to possibly make him better.

There was the possibility of Inoue healing Grimmjow, but wouldn't that involved disclosure? She'd find out with her powers if she wasn't told wouldn't she? She'd be able to tell what she was healing as she did it, and she'd have to stop due to horror of it. Even if Ichigo was underestimating her constitution, there was still the issue of violating his promise to Grimmjow. Letting Grimmjow know that he knew would only lead to asking why and he had promised he wouldn't. The one thing that had always been true about himself had been that he kept his word to the best of his ability. He didn't know what to do, and now it had affected his work enough to warrant a sit down with his boss.

"It's been botherin' ya all week from what I've seen. Given that it's just you and me right now, I can't afford to keep ya on the floor if your work ain't getting' done 'cuz you distracted by whatever." Rizubet-san leaned back against her chair, and pulled out her candy bar, opening it and swiftly biting into the chocolate. "You're a good guy, and I know you've got it harder than most, what with that bum pa o' yers, but you're still a kid," She tapped her temple, "in here. Jus' a lil."

He crossed his arms, shaking his head. "It isn't…that I don't want to tell you, Rizubet-san. I can't."

"Why not?"

"I…," Ichigo cleared his throat, "I made a promise." He looked down at his feet, because this could get him fired and he needed this job in order to maintain his fiscal responsibility. There wasn't much he could do really. He didn't have enough medical training to work from the Clinic, and finding a job with flexible hours given his dependents, and his school work, was a battle unto itself. This job had been a miracle-find, the one lucky break. He'd never find another job that paid this well and let him control his schedule as long he met his weekly quota. They weren't broke, but living off of their savings alone wasn't smart. Sure, Doctors get great pay, but not every bit of every check goes unspent, and Isshin worked out of his own practice. He didn't make as much from the Clinic as he would from a hospital.

Ichigo startled as the couch dipped beside him, and he found himself pulled into an embrace. He stiffened in surprise. "Hey." He hadn't noticed Rizubet-san move. This really was getting in the way. "You're a good kid." Fingers started carding through his hair. "I won't make ya tell me, but I expect ya to get your act together." He found his forehead resting on her shoulder, and tried to remain still, unsure how to act. "I'm a ma, and I was an orphan." She chuckled, "I know yer problems from both ends. So if yer gonna straighten yourself out, do it fast kiddo. I need that much from you." She tightened her arms around him. "Yer too old to be mine, but you need help with somethin' and I'm a big softy."

He sagged, guiltily. "Rizubet-san, I just-."

"No." She cut him off, "You said you made a promise and I ain't gonna make ya break it so shush, you." She sighed, exhausted. She had her own troubles too, he remembered. "…we aren't friends but we ain't just employee and employer anymore either. But since yer acting like a fool, and won't ask for it, I'll have to do it for you."

He raised his head to look at her questioningly. "Wha-."

"I don't want to see you next week." Ichigo would have felt his stomach drop, but he could tell from her expression that she wasn't done. "You use it ta sort it out – yer," She waved ominously at the air, "whatever it is. And then you come back and start actually earning yer pay, hon."

"But-."

"STAHP." Rizubet-san exaggerated. The growing look of irritation on her face made her appear foul. "Just let me help you, idiot!" He flinched. "Time is the only thing I can give ya under the circumstances. Ya won't tell me what's wrong, and ya can't work like this. I can't work like this. I got a kid at home too, and life can be shitty but that hasn't stopped me. And this," She poked him, about as rudely as one can be poked, "whatever won't stop you."

He was stunned unmovable until she shoved him to the floor, making a sound of disgust.

"Oi!" He stood up, and huffed in annoyance.

"See? If that ain't keeping ya down, nothin' should." She hopped up and opened the office door again. "Now go home." Her expression kind. "Ain't nobody got time fo' dis shit."

He swallowed down his thanks and merely nodded instead. She'd probably punch him for talking at this point. Just as he stepped out, he jumped in surprise as his ass was slapped. He spun around just as the door slammed shut.

"Yer ass is my hand's bitch now!" His boss called through the door. Laughing, without any shame what so ever. "So I expect it back here in two weeks!"

Warm amusement bubbled in his chest and he turned back around. "Yes, Rizubet-san." He had to use this time wisely, come up with a plan. He only had a week to figure out what he was going to do about Grimmjow.


End file.
